Soul Survivor
by elfin
Summary: An almost fatal attack on Kitt changes many lives....
1. A Place In The Forest

  
"Soul Survivor"  
by elfin  
Dedicated to Robert Eric Forster  
  
  
"Empathy, humanity, love: these qualities are resident within a man's  
soul, no matter where that soul resides."  
- from "I, Robot", Issac Asimov  
  
* One man can make a difference, but not alone. *  
  
("...and I wonder when we are ever going to change,  
living out this fantasy 'till nothing else remains...")  
  
  
Prologue  
  
In brilliant sunlight a sleek black form, held under the control of one  
man, driven for the pure pleasure of driving, streaks along the quiet,  
dusty road. Several miles ahead, a man waits in an Ivory white Esprit,  
watching.  
(there are moments in our lives which are cross-roads)  
As the black form closes on the waiting man, he gives an order to a  
long truck at the next fork in the road.  
(moments which alter the course of our lives)  
With calculated timing, the truck pulls out of the left-hand fork,  
directly into the path of the oncoming car.  
(moments when worlds crumble and we emerge to an unrecognizable  
existence)  
Without pause, the car becomes airborne, launching itself over the  
truck, end to end. And as it passes overhead, a large weapon is fired  
in rapid succession at the underside of the car. Instantly, its driver  
is thrown out, landing heavily in the long grass to the side of the  
road. Under the onslaught of the attack, the driver's partner loses  
control, fails to bring the car down safely, and the vehicle crashes  
heavily into the road just beyond the truck.  
(there are moments that can shatter everything we know and depend on)  
The truck moves off, towards the man in the white car, to report  
success. It leaves behind a silence, pierced only by the groans of the  
fallen man, and the frantic attempts of his dying partner to contact  
him.  
(these are moments we have to survive)  
  
*****  
  
One - A Place in the Forest  
  
The torrential rain crashed against the windshield as Michael drove  
through the night. The wipers were on maximum speed, but they were  
still having difficulty coping and visibility was low.  
  
_This is not happening, it can not be happening_.  
There had been a time when his life had been easy. There had been a  
time when all he had had to worry about was whether the store would have  
any chocolate mousse filled doughnuts left by the time Jerry managed to  
turn up at work. In those days the only things he had to care for were  
his job, his cat Molly and his appearance; vital for pulling the girls  
drawn to the uniform of a Lieutenant.  
  
_This car is impossible to steer... too heavy... why do they make cars  
so heavy?_  
It was only because he was not used to it. He was spoiled, he took his  
transport for granted. Fast cars, powerful trucks, Lear jets. Could  
all that really be gone? What the hell was happening? Only two days  
ago everything was fine, everything was as normal as it got for him, and  
for his friends, the people he worked with and depended upon. Three  
days ago life had been as near to perfect as it ever had been.  
  
A whine of... of what? Frustration? Pain? Fear? Whatever that sound  
was, it was terrible to hear. Michael dropped his hand on to the metal  
casing on the passenger seat, in a gesture that could only possibly have  
comforted himself.  
"Hang on, please, just hang on."  
The weather was abysmal, the sheets of rain making it almost impossible  
to see more than a couple of feet in front of the hood. These  
unfamiliar roads were pitch black, the only light coming from the weak  
headlamps, straining to cut through the incessant downpour. He almost  
missed the turn-off. The signpost was old and barely readable, but he  
was paying attention. A life depended upon it.  
  
Two days ago. There had been a malfunction in the communications  
software. Actually Michael had just been relieved to get his boss off  
his back for a short while. He had initially imagined it to be weather  
interference; the electrical storms had been quite bad recently. And  
then he had thought properly about the software. But the diagnostic  
programs had not turned up any problems, and he had eventually started  
to worry. Then had come the attack.  
  
If he closed his eyes he could still see the look on her face when she  
had seen the limping wreckage of her baby.... It had mirrored the  
horror of his own expression, although his was worn down by fear and  
worry, and the constant of having spent ten hours watching his friend  
slowly slipping away from him.  
  
And now... now they were still fighting to save a life, a life whose  
last real hope had been destroyed in the devastation they had found back  
  
at the lab. Up until then, he had had a chance of survival. But when  
they had seen what had been done, when they had realized that every  
diagnostic computer in the building had been smashed, their hope of ever  
getting him back had faded to practically nothing.  
  
So here he was, driving a strange car to the place that held the only  
hope that his own life, just maybe, could be real again.  
  
**  
  
Bonnie Barstow stood in the open doorway, watching the rain cascade off  
the sloped roof of the house. They had taken a big risk at the  
airport. Devon had spotted several men he recognized from mug shots,  
but they had been waiting for Michael, and any sign of the black  
casing. They were not waiting for her or Devon. Their suspicions had  
been right. Sending the computer by car had been safer, keeping it well  
out of the way of those that had already done so much damage.  
  
Bonnie's ears still seemed to ring with the high pitched screaming of  
the alarms that had signalled the start of this nightmare. She felt  
empty inside. She had been surfing the Internet when it had all  
started. She could even remember what she was looking at; views of the  
mountains, giving her ideas about taking a winter break. All the horror  
had begun with one simple beep. She had not known what it had meant at  
first, had not honestly known where it had been coming from. But it had  
not stopped, and eventually she had gotten up and walked over to the  
small console built into the corner of the trailer. There was one  
flashing red light, and five steady columns of small red and green  
LEDs. There were a great many LEDs around her, but these meant  
something specific.  
  
(As she watched, a second red light started to flash. Another,  
slightly louder beeping joined the first, and the initial column of LEDs  
dulled. She stared at the display, understanding starting to descend  
over her as the second column of lights went off; first the green ones,  
then the lower red ones. Another beep, this time unmistakably an alarm,  
overrode the other two. As the third column of the five darkened, a  
small LCD display came alive, lines of text starting to scroll slowly up  
the small screen into view. By the time the high-pitched shrieking  
alarm started, the words on the screen had stopped moving, and a cursor  
was flashing.  
External Access Released : Command   
  
Almost without thinking, Bonnie pressed her thumb against the large  
black button on the console. The noises, the flashing red lights,  
everything, stopped. Except for the LEDs winking out down the final  
column. As the last red LED turned to black, some more words appeared  
at the command prompt on the screen.  
Integrity 0%  
Before she had time to do anything it was over.  
  
The phone was ringing, and still in a slight daze she lifted the  
receiver. She vaguely heard Devon telling her that every alarm in the  
lab was sounding and that lights were flashing; big red lights. He was  
panicky, but for a wonderful, blissful moment, she still remained  
ignorant as to what it all meant. And then she knew. Devon had simply  
said his name. She almost dropped the phone. This could not be  
happening....  
  
She hung up the receiver with Devon still talking. The silence that  
remained around her was deafening. All she could focus on were the  
words displayed on the screen. And in a moment of horrifying clarity  
she knew exactly what it all meant. She knew what each tiny dark LED  
represented. She knew what the words 'External Access Released' meant.  
And worst of all, she knew what 'Integrity 0%' stood for. In human  
terms, flatline.  
  
Almost immediately she started to type, she refused to let herself  
consider what all this meant for Michael, she silently prayed that he  
was okay. But there was nothing she could do until she knew where they  
were. At the command prompt she simply typed 'reboot system'. That  
should have brought the system back on line; the last time they had  
managed to salvage eighty percent of the database at this early stage.  
This time, the display stopped at 30%. Holding back the panic, Bonnie  
typed 'display location'. Moments later she contacted the emergency  
services and got the mobile trailer unit on the move.  
  
Nothing could have prepared her for the sight that awaited them.)  
  
**  
  
Finally the house came into view. Set back from the road, the old  
Tudor-style building had a short open driveway, leading up along the  
side of the house to where a large garage could just be seen. Michael  
swung the heavy car onto the gravel drive and continued up past the  
house, through the open doors of the garage. It was a large, damp  
building, dimly lit, save for the desk lamps on the work-tops that had  
obviously become the makeshift lab. Opposite, at the far end, Michael  
could see the mobile unit backed up against a second set of doors. The  
trailer's back was open and its ramp down. He knew what that meant, and  
he was almost too frightened to look. To the other side of the garage  
stood the covered wreck of his car, a dirty grey tarpaulin hiding the  
damage. He sighed, fighting back the tears of exhaustion and despair,  
and clambered out of the sedan. Every part of him ached.  
  
"Michael!" He turned and smiled a sad smile as Bonnie came from the  
back door of the house towards him. "Are you all right?"  
He nodded, and motioned to the makeshift lab, electronic equipment  
spreading out to take up most of the floor area over to the left-hand  
side. "Nice set-up, I didn't think they left anything intact."  
She shrugged, frowning. "It's all I could salvage, plus the stuff we  
had in the trailer." She turned to look up at him, emotions clear in  
her expression. "I don't know if it's going to be enough." She took a  
deep breath and looked passed him, through into the passenger window of  
the car. "How's he doing?"  
Michael's gaze fell on the casing on the front seat. "Not good."  
Bonnie fought back more tears as she opened the car door and watched as  
  
Michael bent to pick up the black box, about the size of a modern VCR,  
and about the same weight. She led him over to a workbench in the midst  
of the lab equipment. Clearing a laptop out of the way, Michael gently  
set the casing down.  
  
As he backed away to give Bonnie more room, a mug of steaming coffee  
was pushed into his hand. "Devon..."  
The older man, who had appeared at his shoulder, smiled gently at him,  
encouraging. "Drink it. It may help compensate for the sleep you're  
not going to get."  
Michael nodded and smiled gratefully. "So," he tried for some  
semblance of a normal conversation, "why haven't I seen this place  
before?"  
Devon Miles shrugged, sipping from his own mug. "Wilton always  
suggested we keep this location secret, just in case. I always wondered  
just in case of what? Now I know."  
"Who's doing all this Devon. Who would want to hurt us like this?"  
Devon shook his head, helplessness clouding his stark features. "In  
honesty, I suppose there must be a very long list." He took in  
Michael's almost desperate expression, knowing the journey up here could  
not have been easy for him. "I wish I knew," he said finally.  
Michael's eyes settled back on the black casing that was rapidly  
disappearing beneath a varied collection of wires. "So do I," he  
breathed.  
  
Bonnie was ignoring the talk behind her. Within seconds she had  
removed the crumpled lid from battered casing and was starting to wire  
up the monitors, switching them all on one by one to the tune of the  
same weak pulse each time. Finally she hooked in the laptop and hit  
return. It asked her for the alphanumeric access code and she keyed it  
in without thinking.  
  
ACCESS GRANTED : DATABASE INTEGRITY AT 30.25% : SYSTEM INTEGRITY AT  
12.72%  
backup status  
LAST SYSTEM BACKUP : CEEPS 17:58 20.07  
  
Bonnie frowned. A backup had been taken at the time just before the  
system crash, but she was not certain what CEEPS meant. Sighing,  
feeling the eyes of the two men behind her on her back, she reached  
again for the laptop.  
  
backup integrity  
BACKUP INTEGRITY AT 34.05%  
  
That was not good. She could feel the emptiness inside her growing  
like a black hole. A quiet whimper from next to her rung in her ears as  
the desperate cry for help that it was.  
"I know," she spoke quietly, her words directed at the mangled circuit  
boards contained within the casing Michael had so lovingly brought  
here. "I know you're in pain, Kitt. I promise I'll make it all go  
away, just give me another minute, okay?"  
  
set system recovery  
SYSTEM RECOVERY SET : RESTART REQUIRED  
_  
  
She looked behind her, at Michael and Devon watching her with expectant  
hope. "Look, I know you're worried, but this is going to take some  
time. There's nothing you can do now, you've done all you can for  
him." She tried to keep the concern from her voice, striking for  
tenderness, understanding the knife-edge that Michael's emotions at  
least were balancing on. "I have to shut the system down, and try to  
restart it." She took a deep breath, meeting Michael's hopeful gaze.  
"I'm not going to lie to you, I don't know if there's enough data left  
to bring Kitt back. Our Kitt may no longer be there."  
Michael reached a shaky hand out and gently touched the casing, rubbing  
his thumb back and forth, not for Kitt, but for himself. "See you soon,  
  
Partner."  
Bonnie's eyes fell to the floor, as she heard Devon whisper,  
"goodbye,", and lead Michael back out of the garage and into the house.  
  
As they stepped out into the falling rain, Devon squeezed the bridge of  
his nose, trying to ease the hours-old headache. Michael caught the  
gesture through the fog in his own tired brain. "Are you okay?"  
Devon tilted his head to gaze at his companion. "Not really,  
Michael." He glanced back at the garage. "I've known Kitt from the  
moment they first switched him on." He sighed at the memory. "You  
know, Wilton never got to know him. He saw the car and the computer  
simply as part of the Knight 2000 project, as a means to an end. Kitt  
was another expensive toy for Wilton to wave in front of the  
authorities. I only wish we'd thought about the consequences. They  
weren't very clear back then." He sighed. "I know Kitt still thinks of  
  
Wilton as his... father, in a way."  
"I think it's best to leave it that way, Devon." Michael said  
quietly. "Kitt regards Wilton as his mentor, his hero. I wouldn't want  
to change that."  
  
Devon lost himself in his thoughts for a moment. He, Michael, Bonnie;  
they were all looked after in Wilton's will. All except for Kitt. Kitt  
  
needed money spent on him to continue to exist, to thrive, for his  
overhauls and updates, to keep the technology on the cutting edge. And  
they spent the money without thinking; what choice did they have? If  
the funding was ever cut, if the Foundation board ever decided to end  
the project, to dismantle Kitt, would he be able to do it? Would that  
not be... murder? He shook those thoughts from his head. It was wrong  
to be thinking about it now, with Kitt in the grimy mock-up of his lab,  
fighting for his life under worse conditions than he ever deserved.  
  
Meeting Michael's puzzled expression with an apologetic one, he said,  
"Forgive me, I loved Wilton. But there were so many things we  
overlooked...."  
Michael smiled, touched. "You surprise me. I never imagined  
that you saw Kitt as anything but 'the most expensive car in the  
world'." He affectionately mimicked the proud tone Devon had used when  
he had first introduced Michael to his new car. "I don't mean to be  
rude, but I thought you saw him in terms of money too."  
Devon stared despondently at the house in front of them. "I'm  
not very good at showing my feelings towards any of you, but especially  
towards Kitt. I feel like a father figure to you all, protecting you,  
looking after you. I've always imagined that Kitt can look after  
himself, at least a lot better than the rest of you can."  
"Under normal circumstances I'd agree with you, and Kitt understands  
that. You know how he feels about you."  
Devon smiled. "Thank you Michael." And he sounded almost wistful when  
he added, "I just wish that I had found the time to tell him how much I  
cared about him."  
  
Michael knew that he ought to say something comforting, but the  
truth was, Kitt may not make it this time. And when was the last time  
he had told his partner, his best friend, how much he cared, how he  
really felt? When was the last time he had really talked to Kitt, asked  
him if everything was okay, if he was happy, if there was anything he  
needed? Of course Kitt would have said, yes, everything was fine, no,  
there was nothing he needed, and if any of his systems had any problems,  
he immediately informed Bonnie anyway. But that was not the point, the  
point was that Michael had not asked.  
"Come on, Devon," he tried for his best British accent, "let's  
get some tea."  
  
*  
  
_  
  
Bonnie took a deep breath. "I'm going to shut you down now, Kitt. The  
pain will go away, everything will go away, and I promise I will try to  
bring you back." The was a faint sound as Kitt tried to tell her  
something, although he had been way beyond talking for a long time.  
Bonnie wiped a tear from her eye. "I love you, Kitt."  
  
shutdown  
SYSTEM WILL SHUTDOWN IN 30 SECONDS  
  
As she waited, she watched as words appeared on the screen without  
being typed.  
  
goodbye bonnie  
  
SYSTEM SHUTTING DOWN NOW  
  
It took several minutes for the shutdown to complete, and it should  
have taken several more for the system to restart. But when the laptop  
beeped at her, she saw only the extensive list of hardware problems that  
needed her immediate attention before there was even a chance of getting  
Kitt back.  
  
Five hours later the rain had stopped, and Bonnie had not noticed the  
distinct drop in temperature. Michael had been out several times with  
coffee, buttered toast and finally two sweaters, and a heater that he  
had found in the attic. He had questioned Devon about where he had  
found an open store in the middle of the night. Devon had left at just  
after two am and returned less than an hour later with enough supplies  
to keep them going for several weeks. Sometimes their boss could pull  
miracles when they really needed him to.  
  
She had replaced all the circuit boards that had required replacing.  
Sitting waiting for the system to restart was the longest few minutes of  
Bonnie's life. She watched the laptop, remembering the day Kitt was  
switched on, remembering the first words he had spoken to her as she had  
sat face to face with the microprocessor in Wilton Knight's lab. She  
had never heard him talk before, she interacted with him using the  
keyboard and screen, but to finally hear that soft Boston accent had  
been wonderful. He had told her that it was nice to hear her voice for  
the first time.  
  
She had nurtured Kitt through a difficult first few weeks, teaching him  
how to interact with humans, teaching him about himself, giving him  
purpose and ambition. He was self-aware from the beginning, but sadly  
also aware of his presumed role in society.  
  
From the start, when Michael treated him like so badly, Kitt was polite  
and obeyed orders. Only later did he start to put up a fight and give  
as good as he got until Michael realized that Kitt was much, much more  
than just the microprocessor that controlled the flashy Trans-Am.  
  
Her thoughts wondered back to the night after Michael had taken off  
from the Foundation, the day of Wilton's funeral. Kitt had contacted  
her from the parking lot of Michael's hotel. She had been sitting up in  
the lab worrying about Kitt, and wondering why Michael had not called  
in. It had been a relief to hear the announcement chime of the  
communications unit, but Kitt's stressed voice had nearly broken her  
heart. He and Michael were not getting along, Michael had threatened to  
have him disconnected, had told him to 'shut up' on several occasions  
and currently he was not supposed to talk. Kitt had asked her over and  
over what he had done wrong, what he could have said to offend the one  
man in the world he was configured for. Bonnie had never felt hatred  
towards one person so much in her life. Knight had taken off with their  
car, her baby, without a word of thanks, and now he was treating Kitt  
like the computer was nothing but circuitry and bubble chips.  
  
And she recalled seeing Kitt finally drive up into the mobile unit  
several agonizing days later. He had a dent in his hide, but was a lot  
happier than he had sounded that first night, and had already formed a  
special bond with his driver.  
  
Through the years, Kitt had proved himself to them where he really had  
never needed to. He had become a friend to all of them, and to Michael  
he was a partner, a brother, a best friend, a father and a son. He was  
Michael's life, and Bonnie could only guess at the effect that the loss  
of Kitt would have on him, the effect that it would have on all of them.  
  
The laptop beeped once. The system restart was complete. The data,  
whatever data had been rebuilt by the retrieval program, had been  
loaded. All Bonnie had to do was run the program that would initialize  
the system and lockout the external access once more, handing control  
back to Kitt, as long as the database and systems were intact.  
  
SYSTEM READY... WAITING  
kitt  
RUNNING PROGRAM KITT... PROGRAM ABORTED  
  
Bonnie hated this. It just felt so impersonal, typing words into a  
laptop, words on which a life depended. Kitt amounted to more than a  
complex computer program, he was her friend.  
  
kitt integrity  
KITT INTEGRITY AT 14.55%  
_  
  
Her breath locked in her throat. Fourteen and a half percent?  
  
rebuild database kitt $MAINBASE  
REBUILDING KITT......... REBUILD COMPLETED  
kitt  
RUNNING PROGRAM KITT... PROGRAM ABORTED  
  
Bonnie realized her hands were shaking. Not that it was warm in the  
garage, even with the heater, but it did not matter. Nothing mattered  
expect the words on the screen, and they were telling her, over and  
over, in varying ways, that Kitt was gone. There was no recovering him  
this time.  
  
kitt integrity  
KITT INTEGRITY AT 14.55%  
  
Again, she tried rebuilding the main database, but the program still  
aborted, the system still could not boot. Just as she was about to try  
again, she felt a warm hand on her shoulder. "Let him go, Bonnie,  
you've done everything you can." Devon's voice was gentle, pushing the  
truth of his words through to her.  
Her hands dropped from the keyboard and her tears started to fall.  
"I've failed him," she whispered. "I can't revive him. There's just  
not enough left."  
"You did everything you could do, he would be proud of you."  
"But I can't get him back...." As her quiet tears turned to bitter  
sobs, Devon crouched down to hold her. She had been there from the  
start, taught Kitt everything about the world they had brought him  
into. She had been a teacher, a mother and a friend. Kitt had always  
thought the world of her.  
  
Devon let his eyes wonder to the electronics on the work-top. It was  
all beyond him, he looked after the legal and financial side, left the  
practical running of the Knight 2000 project to Bonnie and her team.  
That had been Wilton Knight's dream, that was the fantasy they had all  
helped keep alive. But in the midst of all the planning and revenge  
seeking, they had brought a life into the world. That had been the real  
truth. They had created a life, without giving it a second thought,  
albeit without ever meaning to, and now they had to deal with the  
consequences. The Knight 2000 project had proved to be more of a  
success than Wilton could have ever imagined it would be. But as Devon  
had started seeing Kitt for the first time through Michael's eyes, he  
had seen the innocence and naivete of a child. Wilton's child. A child  
the man had never wanted, and never cared about.  
  
Devon caught himself and derailed his train of thought. Those were  
late night fancies that had no place here. No use blaming anyone now.  
"He's dead." Two softly spoken words that he needed clarifying before  
they went on from this moment.  
He felt Bonnie nod against him, before she slowly pulled away.  
"Where's Michael?"  
Devon watched her wipe her eyes and nose with the sleeve of the jumper  
Michael had dug up for her earlier, when there had at least been hope.  
"I left him sleeping in the living room. He was exhausted, and I'm  
still not convinced that he's in perfect health after the attack."  
"One of the paramedics said that he may have sustained a concussion  
when he hit the ground. They wanted to keep him in over night, but  
Michael refused to even go to the hospital. I'm not sure it's good for  
him to sleep." She took a deep breath, she could barely remember what  
day it was, never mind her first aid.  
"Would you like me to tell him?"  
Bonnie smiled up at her boss. "Thanks Devon, but no, I think it ought  
to come from me."  
He nodded. "I'll be inside if you need me."  
  
Silence fell as she heard the back door close once more. She was  
alone. She could not ever remember it being this quiet. It seemed like  
there had been some background noise; a quiet humming of the systems in  
the mobile unit, or in the lab, the coming and going of Foundation staff  
as they worked. When Kitt had been around, there was always the  
familiar, calming tracking of his scanner; almost permanently alive over  
the past few years, searching out Michael's heartbeat amidst the  
constant noise. Even at nights there had been activity, people working  
late, always some programmers and technicians who preferred working in  
the dark hours.  
  
But now there was nothing. Under its dirty cover, Kitt's scanner was  
dark and silent. Before her, the small, triple-columned voice panel  
that had become the basis for the visual reference for Kitt, was just a  
piece of electronic junk. She could run a current through it,  
illuminate the lights once more, but the soul was gone from their  
creation. It was not to be brought back this time.  
  
"Bonnie?"  
She felt her heart sink, and turned to see Michael coming into the  
garage. Quietly, she stood and simply let him walk up to the bench at  
which she had been sitting. Michael's eyes moved from the words on the  
screen to the dead circuitry next to it, and finally his hopeful gaze  
came to rest with Bonnie's. She simply shook her head, no words were  
needed, the truth was written all over her face. Her tears began again  
as she watched Michael rest his palm against the side of the casing, he  
opened his mouth to say something, but no sound came out.  
  
At that moment, the world stopped turning. Michael found he could  
barely breathe, but he had to ask. "Are you sure?"  
Bonnie nodded slowly. "Michael...." She took him by the arm, turning  
him from the computer screen, from the lifeless form of his partner.  
She gathered him into her arms as his exhaustion, disbelief and profound  
sadness erupted into heart-wrenching sobs. Kitt was deep in their  
thoughts, painfully etched into their hearts, and his sparkle would be  
more than missed. Life was never going to be the same again.  
  
From the kitchen window, Devon watched Bonnie lead Michael away from  
the garage. Closing his eyes, he whispered a little prayer.  
  
**  
  
Feeling nothing but an anguish he thought may never end, Michael looked  
up at the moon as if it could provide the answers he needed. All Bonnie  
could do now was be there for him, because she had not been there in  
time for Kitt. She knew she would never forgive herself for failing  
him. So many times they had relied on him, and he had come through for  
them. This once, when he had turned to them, helpless and desperate,  
they had not been able to pull off the miracle he had needed.  
  
"I keep thinking about it... keep thinking over what happened... what I  
could have done to stop it from happening."  
"Don't, Michael, you did what you'd done a thousand times before....  
There was no way you could have known what was waiting...."  
He smiled, meeting her sad eyes, gently taking her hand. "I wish you  
would take your own advice. I know you're blaming yourself." His words  
were spoken softly, admonishing any blame she thought she deserved.  
  
They walked on in silence, neither wanting to think, but both lost in  
memories. Michael did not try to stop the tears streaming down his  
face. What the hell was left without Kitt? He had lost too many  
people. He had believed that he was safe with Kitt; that he could not  
get emotionally involved with a computer. But the microprocessor had  
grown, developed along with Michael Knight as he had left Michael Long  
behind and begun again. Kitt had been there from the start of this new  
life, putting up with more than any person would have.  
  
Uselessly, Michael wiped the tears from his eyes, but they were only  
replaced by more.  
  
So vulnerable in his own way. Their friendship had pushed through the  
boundaries that should have held it. A man and his car. But Kitt was  
not just the car, that was where he resided, but he could be so much  
more. He always strove to be everything he could possibly be. Michael  
scoffed silently at his own thoughts; that could be a eulogy to anyone.  
Kitt was different. He was special.  
  
There were issues that surfaced with him that were never usually in  
contention with any life. There had been the question, not so long ago  
of his status on this earth. Should Michael really just be able to  
switch him off at the touch of a button? Should Bonnie be able to tap  
into his programming, into his _self_ and make adjustments without his  
consent? He was self-aware, he was intelligent, and his consciousness  
was never in any question. And so all external access to Kitt's systems  
had been locked out, handing control to Kitt, and Kitt alone. Any and  
all 'off' switches within the car had been disabled and removed. Kitt  
was his own boss then, and still he had never left Michael's side.  
  
Sighing, not really ready to handle the memories that were swamping  
him, Michael stopped and leant his forehead against the tree blocking  
his path. He heard Bonnie come to stand beside him, but for a long time  
neither spoke. This was a day he had never expected to have to face.  
They had talked a lot about what would happen to Kitt when Michael left  
the Foundation, and when he died, or if anything happened to him. He  
remembered Kitt's words to him, and now he spoke them quietly in a  
choked memorial to his friend.  
"'I don't want to be immortal. I want my memory to stay with yours,  
and to remain there.'" He took a deep shuddering breath, talking but  
not caring if anyone was listening. "He told me that one night. He  
said that if it was to be his choice, he wanted to live his life with  
his friends, and leave behind a memory. He said there was no punishment  
worse than immortality. He couldn't think of anything worse than  
knowing that he would have to live on without the people he loved."  
Michael uselessly kicked at the base of the thick trunk, feeling anger  
settling in beside his grief. "I never for one moment imagined that I  
would be mourning him."  
  
Bonnie stayed silent. What could she say? That Kitt had had a good  
long life? She swallowed back the bitter sob; he was seven years old.  
No one should ever have to outlive their son....  
  
bleep  
  
She thought back on those seven years. The wonder Kitt had brought  
into their lives had been immeasurable, over the time she had worked  
with him, looking after him while he looked after Michael. She had  
learnt as much from him, as he had from her. "It was a pleasure working  
with you." She whispered the words so quietly that even Michael stood  
next to her did not hear, but then, he was lost in his own thoughts.  
  
bleep  
  
Whoever did this had known what they were doing. They had blocked the  
road suddenly, forced Kitt into the air above them, fired miniature  
anti-tank missiles up into the underside of the car in rapid  
succession. They had blown the suspension, the drive, the engine, and  
Kitt, straight to hell.  
  
bleep  
  
Where was that noise coming from? She looked around her, and then to  
her own digital watch ready to switch off any alarm she might have set  
and then forgotten about. But her watch was simply telling the time, no  
flashing lights, no beeping.... She made such a sudden grab for  
Michael's wrist that he nearly lost balance on the one foot he was  
standing on, the other pushed up against the tree.  
"What?"  
"Michael, it's your comlink...."  
They both stared at it, and waited in silence until it bleeped again.  
Out of habit, Michael depressed the two side buttons, raising the tiny  
communicator to his mouth. "Kitt?" There was no reply; he had not  
really expected one. But there was another bleep, and impossibly it  
sounded more urgent this time.  
  
Michael beat Bonnie back into the garage, but only by a moment or two.  
He was not certain what he had expected to see, but everything still  
looked the same. The battered, lidless casing was silent on the  
worktop. Maybe they had imagined it. Maybe they had only heard what  
they had both so desperately wanted to hear. But Bonnie could see more  
in the set-up than Michael could. She looked to the screen of the  
laptop, and instead of the final system integrity value she had brought  
up, there was an additional line displayed.  
  
CEEPS running...._  
  
Frowning, ignoring Michael's pleas to know what was happening, she  
grabbed one of the meter cables from the back of the bench and attached  
the two ends somewhere inside the body of the microprocessor. The  
meter's screen flashed into life, displaying a weak, but definitely  
existent reading. Michael saw it then; a heartbeat, weak and unsteady,  
still desperately fighting for life.  
  
He could not tear his gaze from the tiny screen, but he could tell  
Bonnie's expression by the tone of her voice. "He's alive." She  
whispered the words as if speaking would break the bubble.  
"But how...." Michael looked away then, and saw the words on the  
laptop screen. "What's CEEPS?"  
  
***  
  
Ella Jameson dropped her head against the screen and let out a long  
groan; nothing ever worked on Fridays. It was as if her computer knew  
it was Friday and was looking forward to the weekend as much as she was.  
  
"Ella!" She answered with a second groan and without lifting her  
head. "Call on line four."  
She swore. "I've told Tony four times today; he has to set the MIDGE  
environment variable else it won't work."  
Her colleague shook her head; "You know he only phones you because he's  
in love with your voice. Besides, I don't think it's Tony."  
Ella frowned at Cassie's tone. "Who is it?"  
"Just pick up the damn phone, he sounds important. And rich."  
Ella reached over and retrieved her phone from under the masses of  
paperwork. 'Paperless office' did not even come close to describing the  
  
R&D offices of RDA. "Ella."  
"Ella Jameson?"  
She sat up; the straight English accent most certainly did not belong  
to one of their engineers. "Speaking."  
"Am I right in thinking that you wrote the C.E.E.P.S. emergency backup  
program?"  
She thought about it. "Quite a while ago." Her suspicious mind was  
working overtime, as far as she knew, CEEPS was an untested, fairly  
complicated program. She had written it for a friend who'd been working  
on a project he had insisted he could not talk about. "Who is this?"  
"My name is Devon Miles. I'm Senior Director of the Foundation for Law  
and Government."  
Now that sounded familiar. "CEEPS stands for Central Emergency Export  
and Protection System." Ella explained carefully. "The idea was that  
when the integrity of a given system fell beneath certain specified  
parameters, the program automatically backed everything up to a remote  
storage facility, then once it was safe it would restore the backup.  
But listen, as far as I know nothing was tested, I'm not even sure the  
program runs. I didn't know it was installed anywhere."  
"It's most definitely installed, Miss Jameson, and it seems to be  
running at the moment...." Ella could not help but curse all users.  
"So... we were wondering how much you liked the idea of a site visit?"  
"Oh no, not this weekend, I have plans. It'll have to be Monday."  
"I'm afraid Monday may be too late. The system we're trying to recover  
is of utmost importance. You may say, we're in a life and death  
situation."  
"Look, Mr. Miles, as I said, I wrote the code years ago, unless someone  
went through it with a fine tooth comb, you'll be lucky if it actually  
works at all. The idea itself was far-fetched."  
"Miss Jameson, I assure you that the software would have been  
thoroughly tested before being installed. Testing for this particular  
system was rigorous and exhaustive. There are no bugs in this system."  
Ella chuckled, "So how come it crashed?"  
When the reply came back, she could have sworn the man on the other end  
of the phone was struggling not to cry. Maybe he had just lost all the  
company data. She could not help but smile, users should not ever be  
allowed near computer systems.  
  
"It didn't crash," Devon said with rapidly draining patience. "It was  
attacked. And we need you to ensure that the recovery is a complete  
success." His eyes locked with Michael's angry stare. From the side of  
the phone call that Michael was witnessing, the engineer on the other  
end was being less than helpful, and his partner's life was hanging in  
the balance.  
  
Ella rocked back in her chair, slightly more sympathetic now. "I'm  
going to have to look through the code, it's been so long..."  
"There's a Lear jet standing by at the airport. A Carl Smyth will meet  
you and make you comfortable. I suggest you load all you need from  
there onto a laptop, we can provide everything else."  
She sighed, resigned to the fact that she was not going skiing with  
Cassie and Gavin this weekend. Maybe it was for the best. She could  
not ski anyway, and three was always a crowd, no matter what Cassie kept  
insisting, or what she kept insinuating about the ski instructors....  
"All right Mr. Miles, I'll be at the airport in an hour."  
  
Ella was not amused. Spending the weekend on site because a user was  
having problems was one thing, but flying out to some unspecified place  
in Canada was another. It was freezing up there. 'Carl' had met her at  
the airport as promised, and shown her up into a black and gold Lear  
jet, very executive and very expensive. He had made her comfortable,  
given her a drink and she had just sampled the best food she had ever  
tasted at 25,000 feet. But Carl had avoided answering any questions  
about anything, and she was still none the wiser about where she was  
going. So she sat on the plane, reading through the program code on her  
laptop and letting her imagination run wild. Maybe it was some  
government organization that had built some secret weapon and then had  
it stolen. Maybe they had crashed the system on purpose to stop the bad  
guys using the weapon, and now they could not retrieve any of their  
data. She felt like someone trapped in a James Bond movie.  
  
It had been almost eight years since she had written the CEEPS  
program. The code was uncommented and practically unreadable, she hoped  
to God that it was not full of bugs.  
  
**  
  
Outside the garage, the rain continued to fall. Michael could see the  
drops illuminated by the light over the back door into the house. The  
heater was woefully inadequate for the size of the garage, and the fact  
they had both sets of doors open did not help matters. But neither  
Michael nor Bonnie had any thought of leaving Kitt alone out here,  
whether he was aware or not.  
  
Bonnie had settled in a dusty armchair that she had uncovered in the  
back of the garage. Michael was pacing, every so often stopping in  
front of the work bench to check the unchanging words on the laptop, and  
to gently touch the casing containing the fragile being of his friend.  
Finally, as if he realized he was driving Bonnie insane, he moved over  
to the covered form of the Knight 2000. He pulled back the tarpaulin  
and reached into the twisted, partially opened window. Stretching down  
into the door compartment, he at last found what he was looking for and  
re-covered the car. With a deep sigh, he manoeuvred himself onto the  
hood, covering his black jeans with dust and grime. Gazing down at the  
scrunched up pack of cigarettes in his fingers, he fished out one of the  
few surviving lengths, and untucked the book of matches from inside the  
box.  
  
Bonnie watched Michael light the cigarette and take a long drag from  
it. She was surprised. She had never seen him smoke before, had not  
even realized that he did. But there was no way she was going to  
lecture him, in fact she almost asked him for a drag herself. Idly she  
wondered if Kitt knew, and if he did what he had had to say about it.  
The thought made her smile.  
  
This waiting was awful. Devon had contacted the woman who had written  
the backup program, if that was what it actually was, and she was on her  
way. But the hours that it was taking for her to get there were ticking  
passed with agonizing slowness. And Bonnie was feeling fiercely  
protective. She hated the thought that Kitt's systems even contained a  
program she did not know about, never mind the fact that it was  
currently acting as life support.  
  
Pulling the sleeves of his sweater further down, over his hands, until  
only his finger tips, and the glowing end of the cigarette were visible,  
  
Michael gazed over at Bonnie. "I love him, you know."  
  
His words surprised her, and she stared at him, still getting used to  
the odd sight of him smoking, but all too aware of the obvious calming  
effect it was having on his nerves. Finally she gave in. She heaved  
herself gracefully out of her chair and crossed the garage floor to  
where he was sitting, perched on the wreckage of his car. She reached  
out two fingers and his eyebrows heightened, but he said nothing. He  
simply dug the pack back out of his jacket and reached up to gently  
place the cigarette between her lips. Graciously, he also lit it for  
her, and watched with the same surprise as she had watched him. Bonnie  
nodded her thanks and returned to her chair.  
  
"You could tell him once in a while." She answered eventually.  
Despite the time that had passed, Michael knew what she was referring  
to. It was almost laughable. Two intelligent adults, sitting apart in  
a freezing cold garage, on an isolated estate, somewhere in Canada that  
had very harsh winters, their worry over a computer having lead them  
both back into an old bad habit. It would have been laughable. But the  
computer was the best friend he had ever had, was the closest person in  
the world to him, was his saviour and his confidant, and was the one  
thing he could not stand to lose.  
  
"I do tell him." Michael murmured. "I tell him how much he means to  
me, how much I care. It's difficult to know whether or not he believes  
me. He's always putting himself down to the level of a mere computer."  
He took another long drag. "At least he's finally stopped insisting  
that he doesn't have feelings."  
  
Bonnie sighed. Her eyes wondered again to the black casing, the  
darkened pattern of diodes that would blink when Kitt talked. The same  
pattern, only a larger form, had been used inside the car as a visual  
point of reference. It had become Kitt's face, his mouth, she was not  
sure what, but it beat talking to an entire dash. In her mind she could  
still hear that beautiful smooth Boston accent, sometimes so very  
different from when he was holding a normal conversation.  
  
She remembered back to a very early time, late one night, Michael  
having abandoned him once more to spend the night with some woman.  
Bonnie had taken Kitt out, found some place quiet, opened the sunroof  
and pushed back the seat. The stars had been so perfectly clear; the  
fresh chill of the still night and the hugging warmth of the car had the  
same effect as alcohol on her tired brain. She and Kitt had been  
talking, she could not remember what about, it did not matter. But he  
had said something that had penetrated her wondering thoughts, something  
she would remember and work on for a very long time.  
  
("Bonnie, why do people do that?"  
"Umm, Kitt? Do what?" She felt too comfortable to move, too relaxed  
to open her eyes, and the gentle feel of the soft grey leather interior  
felt good under her fingers.  
"Stroke me like that."  
His words awoke her mind and her imagination for just a moment, and it  
was one moment too long. But she did not stop her fingers moving back  
and forth on the leather just inside the window where her arm and hand  
were rested.  
"You feel good, Kitt," was all she said.  
And he only replied, "So do you, Bonnie.")  
  
Whatever had passed between them that night had never been talked  
about, and never been forgotten. She remembered Michael remarking, a  
few days later, that Kitt had been quieter than usual, and whether she  
knew if there was anything up. She had snapped at him, assuring him  
that the systems were just fine. But Michael had stopped her, shaking  
his head and saying that he had not meant the systems. He had meant  
Kitt, his partner. Whether there was something Kitt might have  
mentioned to Bonnie because they still were not getting along too well.  
It had been a slow, but encouraging start toward her and Michael's  
friendship.  
  
Michael shivered, and glanced down at his watch. It read 02:17. But  
he did not see the time. He only saw his link to Kitt. He gently drew  
two fingers over the tiny screen. Bonnie watched him from the other  
side of the garage. "Have you ever, actually said those three little  
words to him?"  
  
Michael dropped the butt of his cigarette to the garage floor and  
momentarily dropped down to stamp it out. Settling himself back on the  
car, he pulled aimlessly at his sleeves, picking at a small thread that  
he had gradually worked loose over the years. He had never said it.  
There had always been the next time, tomorrow, 'next time he gets shaken  
by something', was Kitt ever shaken? Had there ever been a right time  
to tell his friend exactly how deep his feelings ran?  
  
Michael reproached himself, of course there had been. More times than  
he cared to remember. Times when Kitt had saved his life, times when  
the microprocessor's lightening reactions had gotten them out of  
situations no human action could ever have done. And the flip side,  
when Kitt had been the vulnerable one, after his dip in the industrial  
acid, or his near-fatal encounter with the tank in Chicago. Times when  
Kitt had had his own confidence shattered and had needed Michael's  
reassurance that he could go back out there and face the dangers. Not  
once had he told him.  
  
But Kitt had said it to Michael. Taught about emotions by a computer,  
now that was something to be ashamed of. Kitt had found the right  
time. Sabotaged by a young woman working for Knight Industries as a  
technician, Kitt had been taken, and used, against his own free will, to  
kill. At the end, they had come face to face, Kitt ordered to crush his  
former driver under merciless wheels. But as Michael had stood there,  
pleading with Kitt not to do it, trying to get through to him, Kitt had  
made a leap of faith. He had stopped short of Michael, crashing through  
his own programming, his own forced constraints, to reach a new level of  
consciousness, to find his self. To find his soul.  
  
(Instead of mowing him down, the Trans-Am stopped inches from him, its  
engine purring in sorrow, its driver's side door clicking softly open.  
He had once believed that nothing could be more painful than a gunshot  
in the face. Until this had happened, and each hour that passed caused  
another crack in his heart. Now it was over.  
Unable to stop the flood of tears of relief and pride, Michael climbed  
into his car, allowing the door to close. He wrapped his arms around  
the steering wheel, hugging Kitt in the only way he knew how, knowing  
the nightmare was finally over for them both. He cried himself out,  
only later noticing the darkened windows; Kitt had made this a private  
moment only between the two of them, and for no other witnesses.  
The car sat absolutely still amidst the frantic, angered activity  
around it. Kitt had pushed the temperature up slightly in the only way  
he knew how to return Michael's gesture. And when he finally managed to  
speak, to Michael the usually light voice sounded quiet and choked. "I  
am so sorry...." He broke off as if unable to continue.  
"It's okay," Michael tried to reassure, "it wasn't your fault Kitt,  
it's okay."  
"But I... I tried.... I could have killed...."  
"Ssh, Pal, it's over, we're both gonna be okay. It's all over."  
There was a long silence, both just trying to adjust to what had  
occurred, to what Kitt had been used to do, to what it meant, to the  
long path that lay ahead for them, a path Michael swore Kitt would not  
travel alone. And then he heard four simple words, the first time he  
had heard Kitt whisper. "I love you, Michael.")  
  
Why had he not just said it back? Kitt had never needed to hear it so  
badly in his entire life. He had not left Kitt's side through the days  
and weeks that followed. Through the recriminations and the tests, the  
alterations to his systems and improvements to his security, questions  
about his loyalty, doubts about his abilities, Michael had been there.  
He had spent night after night sleeping in the car, reassuring Kitt at  
every juncture that they were going to get through it, that no one was  
going to harm him and no one was going to split them up. Not once,  
through all the pain and the fear, had he told Kitt that he loved him.  
And he did. Very much. Kitt was his life, his world, so why could he  
not just say it?  
  
Tears started to trail down Michael's face, silently dripping on to his  
sleeves.  
"Michael...." Bonnie was at his side in an instant, her arms enfolding  
him in warmth and love as his tears turned to sobs. She held him tight,  
gently rocking him, quieting him, comforting as best she could when her  
own heart was aching to let go as he had. After a very long time, he  
calmed, pulling away to unceremoniously wipe his nose on his sleeve. He  
looked up at Bonnie with desperation clear in his eyes.  
  
beep  
  
Both turned. Bonnie moved quickly to the laptop.  
  
CEEPS RECOVERY COMPLETE... SYSTEM READY  
  
Bonnie caught her breath. Behind her, Michael asked, "Can we just...  
switch it on?"  
Bonnie shook her head. "You have to initiate the program." Dropping  
her fingers onto the keyboard, she started to type.  
  
kitt integrity  
KITT INTEGRITY 100%  
  
"My God...."  
  
kitt  
_  
  
Neither breathed. The cursor flashed at the prompt for several long  
seconds before...  
  
RUNNING PROGRAM KITT..... PROGRAM INITIATING.....  
  
There was another long wait. Bonnie felt Michael reach down and take  
her hand. She squeezed his fingers in return.  
  
RUNNING PROGRAM KITT..... PROGRAM INITIATING...............  
EXTERNAL ACCESS LOCKOUT INITIATED.....  
  
Bonnie let out a deep breath and reached over to the back of the  
casing. Touching the switch she mentally said a quick prayer before  
applying gentle pressure.  
  
There was a silence that seemed to stretch forever, as data and input  
flooded into Kitt's circuits and he suddenly found himself dealing with  
the attack all over again. Seconds later, the voice panel on the front  
of the casing went berserk.  
"Kitt?"  
There was more frantic wracking of the correlated three-columned panel.  
  
"Can he hear us? Should he be able to talk?" Michael had stepped  
around her and rested his hand against the side of the casing, wanting  
desperately to calm his obviously distressed partner.  
"Yes... He should be able to hear us and talk to us."  
"Kitt, c'mon buddy, talk to me, tell me you're okay."  
Again the voice panel went crazy. Bonnie could recognize panic when  
she saw it. "Okay Kitt, use the screen. Can you get to the laptop?"  
There was a pause as Kitt found the link to the small computer next to  
him.  
  
bonnie is michael all right  
_  
  
"Kitt, can you hear us? Michael's fine. He's right here."  
  
michael i hear you bonnie cant talk  
  
"All right Kitt. Just listen to me. Your systems were backed up  
somehow, by a program we don't understand. The program's writer is on  
her way here so I'm sure she'll be able to find the problem and put it  
right." She took a deep, calming breath. "You're going to be fine,  
Kitt. We just have to wait."  
  
thank you bonnie  
  
"Kitt?"  
  
michael are you all right im sorry about the accident  
  
"I'm fine. Don't worry about the accident. We were attacked, Pal,  
we'll get them, I promise. For now you just have to relax and get  
better for us."  
  
michael im scared  
  
Michael felt the tears start over again. "I know, Kitt." He wiped his  
eyes with his fingers. "It's gonna be okay, Pal. We're here for you.  
We'll look after you now." He moved over to the keyboard, and Bonnie  
watched him type.  
  
I love you Kitt  
thank you michael  
  
In the darkness of the circuitry, a single image flashed from memory,  
caught up in a burst as data moved through the system. For a moment,  
that image was captured in the CPU buffer, and for that moment, Kitt was  
gripped by fear. As he had been when he had first seen that image, not  
so very long ago.  
  
**  
  
Ella stepped off the plane to the season's first sprinkling of snow.  
Devon met her himself. They had not had time to work out who they could  
still trust from the Foundation's staff. They were sure that whoever  
had planned the attack on Michael and Kitt had had inside information  
about the car's few weak points. With Kitt's life depending on the only  
equipment they had left, with the whole project so open and vulnerable,  
Devon did not want to involve anyone he did not have to. Not yet  
anyway.  
  
He greeted her over the noise of the jet. "Miss Jameson, thank you for  
coming."  
Ella frowned at him, pulling her coat closer around her in the freezing  
cold. "People tell me that the Foundation's based in California, Mr.  
Miles. What the hell are you doing out here?"  
"As I explained on the phone, Miss Jameson, we've experienced a  
crisis. We really do need your expertise."  
Through the calm, polite, business-like exterior, Devon's desperation  
was clear to Ella, and she simply nodded, leading the short way to the  
car parked on the airstrip.  
  
Ella had done some checking up on Devon Miles and Knight Industries  
before she had left. She had rung a couple of friends, getting all the  
information she could in the short time that she had. Founded by Wilton  
Knight, the company had many interests, making billions of dollars  
profit a year. Nothing even remotely suspicious went on at the company,  
everything legal and above board. Then there was the Foundation for Law  
and Government. Funded partly by money from Knight Industries, it  
specialized in legal work, wrangling long and complicated cases that  
would not otherwise see the inside of a courtroom.  
  
But there was a small offshoot from the Foundation, something two of  
her friends had mentioned but had no details on; the Knight 2000  
project. Tom had said something like, 'one man and one car'. Beth had  
told her that she had heard of something strange happening in California  
a few years back. Some guy turning up from nowhere and solving some  
problems in Silicon Valley, driving a car that survived a Demolition  
Derby without a scratch. But she could not find anything more out about  
it.  
  
She watched the countryside slip by, beautiful views of mountains and  
woodland. Devon was quiet, lost in thought. "Mr. Miles, there are a  
few things I need to know."  
"Of course, our chief technician is waiting for you in the lab."  
That was the only thing she managed to get from Devon, and she was  
relieved when they finally turned into a long gravel driveway.  
  
It was still snowing lightly, but the sun was coming up as he killed  
the engine and got out. Something told Ella that if she had waited he  
would have opened the door for her, but she did not wait. She pushed  
the door and stepped out of the car. Trees surrounded the estate; a  
beautiful setting for a beautiful house.  
"This place is fantastic," she breathed, real awe in her voice. Devon  
allowed himself a smile of pride. "I was expecting a warehouse or some  
office block."  
"If you'd follow me."  
  
Devon led her around the back to the garage, and stepped inside.  
Michael was sitting up on the workbench, next to the casing, smoking.  
Bonnie was in the chair, fast asleep, covered with blankets. Michael  
looked up when Devon approached. "Michael, this is Ella Jameson."  
He nodded, "The writer of the backup program?" He stretched out his  
hand, and Ella shook it. He was freezing. The whole garage was  
freezing. What kind of place was this to keep a crucial system?  
Michael slid off the bench and gently shook Bonnie. "C'mon Sleeping  
Beauty, your heroine is here."  
  
Bonnie opened her eyes and was immediately on her feet, all business.  
Ella was impressed; it took a hot shower and two mugs of strong coffee  
for her to make that transformation in the mornings. "Miss Jameson."  
"Ella, please." They shook hands. "This isn't exactly what I was  
expecting...."  
"What were you expecting?"  
Ella frowned. "I'm not sure. A computer lab perhaps? Lots of  
scientists in white coats running around and panicking, coffee?"  
"Now that one we can do." Devon disappeared towards the house.  
Bonnie gave her a strangely forced smile. "This isn't what any of us  
expected, and it's not what we're used to. What can you tell us about  
the CEEPS program?"  
"It's a Central Emergency Export and Protection program. When certain  
parameters are attained within the system status, the entire system is  
backed up to a remote location. When it's safe to do so, the recovery  
will start automatically back into the original store."  
"Well, it does seem to have done exactly that, only, there seems to be  
a problem."  
"If you could point me in the direction of the system?"  
  
Bonnie stepped aside to reveal the casing and the laptop. Ella's face  
fell. "Hang on a minute. When Mr. Miles called he said it was an  
emergency, a critical system. What is that?"  
Bonnie sighed. She was tired and upset. She strode over to the body  
of the car and grabbed the end of the tarpaulin, yanking it back as she  
stepped away. "That system lives in this car. It's the integral part  
of the Knight 2000 project." Ella stared at what was once an obviously  
magnificent vehicle. "The system is in that casing there." She pointed  
to Kitt. "It's the most complicated, expensive, intelligent computer in  
the world. Its primary components are AI neural nets that have  
progressed further than any other AI machine known about." She walked  
back slowly. "The recovery of the system seems to have worked except  
for the voice circuits."  
Ella took all of this in. "It talks?" She asked finally.  
  
Michael shook his head. If he had a dime for every time someone had  
asked.... "Yes, _he_ talks. He's currently speaking to us using the  
laptop."  
Ella had heard enough. She sat down hard on the arm of the chair  
Bonnie had been sleeping in. This was nuts. A freezing cold garage  
with computers and system monitors everywhere, a wrecked car, and a  
laptop that these people claimed was being used to.... She looked up to  
the screen and her thoughts stopped suddenly. Could this really be  
happening?  
  
Devon returned with a pot of freshly brewed coffee, and a mug for  
Ella. "How is he?"  
"He's okay," Michael said gently, knowing how fraught Devon's emotions  
were right now, however well he hid them, and constantly aware that Kitt  
was listening to every word with his own brand of scrutiny. "He's going  
to be fine. Once Ella here sorts out the recovery program."  
  
Ella had moved, pulled the chair up to the workbench and was staring at  
the words on the laptop screen. "I need system access." She spoke up  
eventually. "I need a password."  
Bonnie shook her head, leaning over the keyboard. "It's a bit more  
complicated than that. We don't have permissions for access at the  
moment."  
Ella nodded carefully, "That's why I need a password."  
"You don't understand, it's not a case of passwords. External access  
is locked out when the program is initiated."  
"Why?" Ella did not understand what the hell was going on.  
"Protection. Kitt, I need you to release limited external access.  
It'll be okay, you're safe."  
Ella watched as words appeared on the screen.  
  
i trust you bonnie  
LIMITED EXTERNAL ACCESS RELEASED  
_  
  
"You'll be able to run system diagnostics and anything else with that  
access, if you need to make any changes, you'll need higher level  
access, Kitt can give that to us if I ask."  
Ella nodded, sighed, bent down and retrieved her own 'Black Daemon'  
laptop from her bag, waving the plug in the air as a hint. Michael  
immediately picked up on it and found a nearby free socket. While Ella  
booted the Black Daemon, she looked up at the three anxious looking  
faces. "Look guys, you could all do with some rest. I don't know when  
the last time you slept was, but you all looked trounced. If you say  
that all I can do is run diagnostics, you know I can't do anything bad,  
agreed?"  
Bonnie nodded, and that seemed to convince Michael, because he put his  
arm around her shoulders and lead her gently back, out of the garage and  
into the house. Devon hung back for a moment, looking as if he wanted  
to say something, but eventually he just followed the other two.  
  
Ella looked back at the laptop, unable, or maybe unwilling, to fully  
understand the meaning of the words written there. Nice system, voice  
activated AI controlling what? A car? Was that what Beth and Tom had  
been talking about? Although from what Bonnie had shown her of the  
Trans-Am, it did not look as if it had been particularly  
indestructible. She wondered how much of the system was  
voice-activated. "Run database diagnostic, give me the status of all  
links within the system."  
  
my database is at full integrity miss jameson  
  
She smiled. Cute. Lap-linking the two small machines, Ella started  
the CEEPS diagnostics running on the system that the backup had  
recovered. She hoped she could remember how to read the diagnostic  
reports that the program created. Devon had left the pot of coffee on  
the small table behind her, and downing the first mug, she poured  
herself another. She wished that she understood what was happening  
here. Her eyes fell on the car, and heaving herself out of the chair,  
she walked quietly over to it. Bonnie had left the cover off, and it  
did not take careful inspection to see that whatever had hit the car,  
had hit from underneath. Ella lifted the crooked hood with some effort,  
and caught her breath with surprise. The engine had been mutilated,  
pushed up and out, and there was a large empty area at the back. She  
surmised, if they were telling her the truth, that the microprocessor on  
the workbench would fit in to the gap quite snugly.  
  
The interior had also been devastated, if there had been anyone driving  
it when whatever had happened happened, they would not have stood a  
chance. But what was interesting, was that despite the damage, the  
deformation of the car and the destruction to the interior and the  
engine, there seemed to have been no direct damage to the exterior  
body-work. The only dents were coming outwards, as if a bomb had  
detonated inside the car. So _this_ was the Knight 2000 project. Maybe  
there was an attack. If that were true, it would mean that someone did  
this on purpose. Why?  
  
Interested, Ella crossed back to the workbench. "Kitt?" She felt so  
silly. Why the hell would anyone name a computer?  
  
miss jameson  
  
Ella moved round to the screen. "What happened?"  
  
are you asking about the attack  
  
"Yes."  
  
a truck pulled out of a fork junction coming straight for us there  
was no real choice but to go over it as we got airborne i saw the men  
on top of the truck with weapons launchers there was no time its  
difficult to divert during a jump i ejected michael into the nearby  
field i knew there was little chance of us surviving the attack five  
missiles penetrated from under the car detonated instantly i lost  
control  
  
Ella read the words as they appeared. Somehow she was touched by what  
she was seeing. It was the fact that it kept using 'I', like it blamed  
itself for what had happened. But how could it? A computer did not  
feel blame. What a nightmare place the world would be if your PC  
apologized each time it crashed. The thought of the Slave computer from  
the sci-fi series 'Blakes7' popped into her mind and she mentally  
shivered. But this was different, this was self-awareness being  
displayed here.  
  
Her Black Daemon beeped at her, letting her know that the tests were  
finished and the reports were ready. It took her a short while to go  
through them, and she had to go through them twice. Because no matter  
how she interpreted the results, everything was fine. She could not  
understand it.  
  
run system diagnostic kitt -compl  
KITT INTEGRITY 100%  
  
Confused, she turned back to the Black Daemon.  
  
ceeps -mod voice -compl -rep voice  
cat voice  
  
The report file scrolled up the screen. She studied it for half an  
hour but there was still nothing to say why the voice module was not  
working. Because it was working. Everything said that it was working.  
Finally, Ella switched off the Black Daemon and sat back.  
  
"Okay Kitt, would you like to tell me why you're lying?" There was  
nothing but silence, yet no words appeared on the screen and Ella knew  
she was right. Eventually, although she felt daft saying it, she tried  
following an instinct. "You can talk to me Kitt."  
There was another lengthy silence, before a low, quiet voice asked,  
"How did you know?"  
  
The accent, the tone, the inflections of the voice took her completely  
by surprise. She had expected a monotone synthesized voice module,  
instead, it was like hearing another person speaking. And it was one of  
the most sensual voices she had ever known. Her anger at being dragged  
out here finally vanished, replaced by curiosity. "I wrote this code a  
long time ago, but even back then I knew what I was doing. Every  
diagnostic I run says that the voice module is at 100% integrity."  
"I'm sorry."  
  
Ella sat back in the chair, breathing a deep sigh. She caught sight of  
the crumpled cigarette box on the workbench, and stretching over she  
snagged it between finger and thumb, pulling it towards her, revealing  
the tired book of matches next to it. Non-smokers smoking. Kitt really  
must be a critical system. Ella smoked when she felt like it. She  
thought she was probably addicted, but she hardly ever carried  
cigarettes around with her, and she reckoned she craved caffeine more  
often than she craved nicotine. She figured it was probably better for  
her that way. But at this moment she felt like smoking. None of this  
made any sense. If this was the Knight 2000 project, then why the  
mock-up lab in the middle of nowhere? The Foundation for Law and  
Government was one of the richest organizations in the USA, so why  
here? If this was a critical system why was it not being fixed in some  
highly secretive lab somewhere, with trained, skilled technicians and  
programmers?  
"Why did you lie?"  
  
**  
  
Bonnie put the phone down with a sigh of relief. Her head hurt. She  
had not slept for going on three days. But the good news was that four  
trusted technicians were on their way up with replacement everything for  
the Knight 2000. One of them had been excitedly talking about some new  
shell, with a new paint job. She had been too tired to listen. She had  
told them, whatever, just to bring what they needed and to get up here,  
developments were constantly being made for the project. She had chosen  
technicians she personally knew and had worked closely with for the  
passed few years, people who had been there at the beginning, people who  
cared for Kitt. And the fact there they were excited about whatever new  
development had been made for the bonded shell gave her extra confidence  
that they had had nothing to do with the attack.  
  
She had been thinking about that as she had chosen the people to ring.  
It was a sad fact that anyone at the Foundation was open to bribery and  
even blackmail. They worked on the edge of technology, at the forefront  
of creative imagination, and it was easy to calculate how much their  
knowledge was worth. But it was one thing to sell secrets, quite  
another to assist in the attack on the flag-ship of the project.  
Attempted murder. On two counts.  
  
She replaced the phone onto the desk and finally allowed herself to  
relax back in the chair. Across from her, stretched out on the sofa,  
Michael was sleeping restlessly. Bonnie watched him. She was intensely  
aware of how her feelings for him had changed over the years. Her hated  
of him for his treatment of Kitt had dissipated early on, as it became  
increasingly obvious that Michael was growing to love Kitt as much as  
she did. She knew that she had followed Kitt's lead, allowing the  
sentient computer to show her how to respond to Michael, how to accept  
him and get along with him. And maybe it was Kitt who had shown her how  
to love him. The warmth between the pair seemed infectious whenever  
she, or anyone else for that matter, was around them. People had  
commented on what a perfect couple they made, and watching Michael with  
Kitt, she usually had to agree. Her eyes drifted upwards to the lounge  
wall, and she thought of the array of photographs, small and large, that  
adorned the walls of the Wilton Knight mansion that played permanent  
host to the Foundation.  
  
Photography had always been a hobby of hers, and Devon had specifically  
had a darkroom fitted out at the Foundation for her personal use. Last  
winter she had taken several shots that she had blown up and framed for  
display. One captured perfectly the snow thrown up by Kitt's tyres as  
the black car had tried to escape from the cascade of snowballs Michael  
had been lobbing. The photo had Kitt's desperate bid for escape on one  
side, Michael's triumphant throw which hit the windshield side on, on  
the other side. A perfect shot of the two partners playing together.  
The second photo was more artificial, but Devon had loved it. She  
always thought of it as 'Free Kitt'. Michael and Kitt in the 'Free  
Willy' pose; Michael standing, one arm stretched into the air with Kitt  
jumping over him, like the whale jumping over the boy in the film  
posters. What it did not capture was the fact that Michael had been  
laughing hysterically, and Kitt had been egging Bonnie on. A rare  
moment indeed when Kitt's impressive capabilities were being used purely  
for fun, and he was the one encouraging the play.  
  
She carried a small copy of the snowball fight shot in her purse. The  
two people she loved most in all the world. Sometimes she wondered  
about telling Michael how she felt about him. She knew he would never  
marry, never do anything that would jeopardize his relationship with  
Kitt. He had told her one night that he had taken on that  
responsibility, as they all had. They had brought a life into this  
world when they had created Kitt, and Michael for one was not ever going  
to abandon that life. Maybe that had been the moment she had truly  
fallen in love with him, because she had known then that it was okay to,  
that her Kitt would be all right whatever happened. She was not looking  
for marriage, she had never seen herself as the marrying type. One kid  
was definitely enough. And that kid was going to need her for the rest  
of his life, there would never come a time when he would grow up and  
move away from home. There could not be a day when he could look after  
himself in his dangerous world. They had made it that way, and it was  
their responsibility.  
  
Michael shifted again and opened his eyes to catch Bonnie watching  
him. "What?" She shook her head, amused at his efforts to untangle  
himself from the blanket Devon had covered him with, enough to sit up  
straight. Devon seemed to be mothering them both at the moment, and  
Bonnie wondered why. "Any news?"  
"No. It's only been just over an hour. I don't want her to feel like  
we're watching over her shoulder. Besides, the diagnostics probably  
take hours to run. There are four technicians on their way to deal with  
the car, they'll bring the other truck with all the parts they should  
need. We need to at least get the car back on the road as soon as  
possible."  
"Damn straight. I'm going after whoever did this." Bonnie looked at  
him warily, and Michael recognized her expression. "I know what you're  
going to say. But I can't help but be angry."  
Bonnie shook her head again, cutting him off, "That's not what I was  
thinking about."  
"Then what?"  
She sat forward. "If Kitt makes it through this, he's had a bad  
scare. You know what he was like after the incident with the acid pit,  
and after the virus, it shakes his confidence, and rightly so. I doubt  
he's going be ready to go out too soon, and you can't go back out there  
without him. We still don't know which one of you they were after.  
Devon's convinced they were trying to kill you, but I'm not so sure."  
Michael screwed his face in thought, trying to find some reason why  
anyone would want to hurt Kitt. "That sounds pretty unlikely Bonnie."  
"There are easier ways to kill someone. Whoever planned this knew the  
only way to damage the car was to attack from underneath. Surely it's  
not too much to assume that same person would know that Kitt would do  
anything to save your life. And they didn't come after you, they must  
have seen you eject, yet they left you alone."  
"I didn't eject," Michael put in. "Kitt threw me out."  
Bonnie smiled. "He knew if you stayed in the car you wouldn't make  
it. The interior was decimated, you'd have gone with it if he hadn't  
ejected you, and you know it."  
"I just wish that he'd let us take _all_ the risks together, including  
the dangerous ones."  
"Michael! He's there to save your life, that's his primary function  
and that is never going to change."  
"But it should." Michael leaned forward to make his point. "Maybe at  
one time that _was_ what he was there for, but he's a person in his own  
right now."  
"And he would still die for you." She hesitated before adding, "Like  
you would for him." Bonnie's expression was serious, and when she saw  
the denial start onto Michael's lips, she said simply, "Tell me I'm  
wrong."  
He looked away. "He's my friend. He's the best friend I've ever had."  
  
"I know, and you're his. So don't berate him for something you would  
do in his place. Okay?"  
  
**  
  
"I'm scared Ella." Kitt kept his voice quiet and low. "I knew what  
was happening, moment by moment. As a computer I have that luxury. As  
we jumped I scanned the top of the truck, just before the first  
explosive pierced the underside of the car. Then I ejected Michael. He  
must have seen the diode light up because he screamed at me not to do  
it."  
"You saved his life. Have you seen the interior of the car?"  
"Not exactly, but I can imagine what it looks like, if it was anything  
like what happened in the engine compartment when that first explosive  
detonated."  
"Describe it to me."  
Kitt hesitated. "It... it was like being in the centre of a huge ball  
of flames. Before, knowing the fire is coming but not being able to  
move, during, while the flames lick at you, all around you, burning  
everywhere. And after, when it's still too hot, when you know you're  
dying and soon the pain will all go away. But it didn't. Until Bonnie  
switched me off when I arrived here."  
  
Ella sat horrified, staring at the microprocessor before her, trying to  
take in everything at once. Burning. Knowing. Escape. Pain. These  
were definitely not words in the language of computers. These were  
words used by a traumatized person who had taken a look into hell and  
decided it was not such a great place after all. She found herself  
reaching out to Kitt. What the hell was she going to do? Stroke a  
piece of metal?  
  
There was a long silence between them. Finally Kitt asked, "Did you  
write the C.E.E.P.S. program?" Ella nodded, then realizing that Kitt  
could not see her, vocally confirmed that she did. Her thoughts were  
still off-centre over all that was happening. "You saved my life."  
Whatever reaction Kitt had expected, Ella simply smiled and chuckled.  
"No, I didn't, Kitt. Michael and Bonnie saved your life. They acted  
quickly, they made sure the recovery had somewhere to recover to." She  
sat forward, touching the side of the casing lightly. "I think they  
love you." She spoke with infinite awe.  
There was a long pause. "I'm sorry I lied to them." The apology and  
sadness in the computer's synthesized voice astounded her.  
"It's okay, I won't tell them if you don't. I'll say the recovery had  
an error in it, but that I managed to retrieve the remainder of the data  
manually."  
"But your program worked, Ella. There was no mistake on your part."  
There was something akin to... misery ? in his voice.  
Ella found herself wondering what she could do for Kitt, who was  
obviously still in shock after his ordeal. "So what if it did work?  
They'll never know, and they won't care either. You're back with them,  
in one piece, safe and sound." She thought for a moment. "Only that's  
not true is it?" There was more inner thought than realization in her  
tone. "You're not sound, that's why you pretended that you couldn't  
speak, that the voice module wasn't working. You don't want to be okay  
because that would mean going back out, and that terrifies you."  
There was nothing but understanding in her summary of the situation.  
And Kitt could only confirm what she had said. "I am ashamed of what I  
did. I don't want you to have to lie to them, to let them think that it  
was your mistake."  
"I honestly don't mind. I'd prefer that they thought that."  
  
Kitt fell silent. He could still replay those agonizing moments before  
and during the attack. He remembered, with crystal clarity, knowing  
that it was all over, knowing there was no way to survive this, knowing  
Michael had to be ejected, and that there was no time to say goodbye.  
This was the end and there was so much he had never said, to Bonnie and  
even Devon, but especially to Michael. No time. He had heard Michael  
shout in denial as the driver ejection began. It was the only way. "I  
will tell them that I'm not able to work with Michael any more."  
Ella sighed. "Why don't you try telling them the truth? That you're  
frightened, that you've had a shock and it's knocked your confidence."  
Her voice became more gentle. "It isn't something to be ashamed of,  
Kitt. It happens to us all."  
"It doesn't happen to computers."  
Ella thought about the scene she had encountered when she had first  
arrived. "You're more than just a computer. I can tell that just by  
listening to you. Computers definitely don't think the way you're  
thinking. You're thinking like a person and that must be how the others  
see you, operators don't usually hand total access control over to their  
machines. You're more than that."  
Another long pause. And then a quiet, "Thank you."  
  
Ella continued to look through the code modules that she had access  
to. Most of the functions that were not running she assumed referred to  
the operation of the car itself. Kitt probably had the ability to run  
those when needed. One function, perc_init, in the main root directory,  
was also not running. "Kitt, what's perc_init?"  
He answered quietly, obviously his thoughts were elsewhere too. "That  
is the function that initializes the perceptors."  
"Perceptors? As in AI?"  
"Perceptors are little pieces of hardware that make it possible for me  
to... feel my environment."  
Ella frowned. "Feel? How?"  
"They act like basic nerve-endings. Much less sensitive, but  
effectively the same purpose; to make me aware of what's around me."  
"Why isn't this function running?"  
"The perceptors are only activated when the CPU is installed in the  
car."  
"But you activate them yourself, don't you."  
"Yes, I do now."  
"Then why only when you're in the car?"  
Kitt was silent for a moment. "I haven't been out of the body of the  
car since control was given to me."  
"You mean, that's all you've ever known? Engine parts?"  
When Kitt answered her, there was definite amusement and patience in  
his voice. "I am a computer designed and built to operate within the  
body of the Knight 2000. I am the voice of the car. Without the car,  
I'm a box. There is nothing else for me."  
  
Ella thought about everything he had said. She had been searching the  
directory structure looking for some clue on what to say to him, how to  
help him through the obvious trauma he was feeling after what he had  
been through. But an idea was forming in her head, so bizarre that she  
was not sure she should even ask. "Are all the perceptors fitted in the  
car?"  
"All but one."  
"And where's that?"  
"It's attached to the casing, on a short wire. It's for testing  
purposes."  
Ella stood, and carefully looked down into the circuitry within the  
casing. She felt scared to touch anything. Kitt had definitely become  
more than the sum of the parts used to make up this fantastic computer.  
Folded carefully into the side of the casing, she found a wire, attached  
to a circuit board at one end, a small receiver at the other, resembling  
an earphone used on Walkmans. Very gently, she lifted and unfolded the  
wire, and then lifted the entire casing and sat down, settling it onto  
her knees and getting comfortable.  
  
She had no idea why she was doing this; maybe she was losing it,  
working around machines too long had driven her insane. But there was  
something in that voice that kept getting to her, an edge that spoke  
volumes to her when only a few words were being used. It made her care  
and Ella had walked away from that too many times already.  
  
She did not know that she was making the exact same leap of faith that  
everyone else who worked with Kitt had made.  
  
Once she was comfortable, her legs curled under her, Kitt sitting  
safely in her lap, she placed the perceptor in the palm of her hand, and  
sat very still. "Activate that function, Kitt." She said quietly.  
"Ella, there's no reason..."  
"Please? Trust me, okay?"  
Kitt said nothing else, but out of curiosity, out of wanting to trust  
Ella despite previous experiences; he ran the initialization function.  
It took a moment. And then he could feel. It was how he had imagined  
being in the seat of the car would feel, soft and warm. And it felt  
comforting somehow. "Where am I?"  
Ella smiled to herself. "You're sitting on my knee, Kitt. Your  
perceptor's resting in my hand. Don't worry, I won't hurt you."  
There was a long silence as Kitt took the electronic equivalent of a  
deep breath and forced himself to relax. Everything was going to be  
okay. "Why are you doing this?" he asked finally.  
  
Ella shook her head. "I don't know Kitt, I've been sitting here  
wondering that myself. Maybe it's because I think you've been in a very  
nasty car accident, and you just need time to adjust."  
Kitt had to agree with her. He lapsed back into silence, letting the  
data from the perceptor flood more of his circuits. No one had ever  
shown him affection like this before. He found he did not want to say  
anymore. Emotions were pounding at him, different feelings that just  
did not settle well together. It was difficult to feel so much at once  
and it took up much of his processing power just trying to put  
everything into place. After some time, he found he was hearing a soft  
noise. Snoring. Michael snored. It was a comforting, familiar sound,  
and for a long time he just listened.  
  
**  
  
Bonnie took in the scene in stunned silence. Ella was curled up in the  
chair, right hand out over the arm, with Kitt in her lap and the test  
perceptor in her palm. Quietly, Bonnie crouched down and whispered,  
"Kitt?"  
"Bonnie... it's good to hear you."  
"Are you okay?"  
"I will be."  
She felt relief envelope her, and allowed herself a smile. "Do you  
know where you are?"  
"Yes." She had expected more, some quick comeback, but nothing else  
followed, so she let it go for now.  
"The technicians are here to sort out the car, we'll have you back to  
yourself in no time."  
"Thank you, Bonnie."  
  
Despite the fact that there were so many things to say, Kitt found he  
did not feel like talking right now. He had always felt vulnerable in  
this state, out of the car, like he was naked, if he could take a wild  
guess at what that felt like. He did want to be back in the car, which  
was where he belonged; it gave him movement, control, sight and  
independence. But right now, for a little longer, he was happy exactly  
where he was.  
  
**  
  
A little later, Ella woke to the aroma of fresh coffee. These people  
really knew their caffeine. When she opened her eyes, she focused first  
on Michael, crouching beside her and grinning, second on the work  
proceeding on the body of the car behind him. "I thought you might need  
this." He indicated the steaming mug in his hand.  
Ella nodded, "Thanks." She tried to move her legs, but they were not  
responding. "I think my legs have gone to sleep." Michael put the mug  
down on the workbench and reached down for the casing.  
"Let me take Kitt...."  
She held up a warning hand, "Careful, this is a live perceptor."  
Michael immediately backed off. "Right. Well why don't we swap places  
for a while?"  
"You sure?"  
"Of course."  
Michael flattened his left right hand and very carefully Ella shifted  
the perceptor into his palm. Lifting the casing, she then moved off the  
chair, settling herself on the floor, knowing her legs would not support  
her until she got some blood back in them. Once Michael was seated, she  
placed Kitt on his lap.  
  
As Ella rubbed some life back into her legs, Michael marvelled in  
feeling the weight of his partner for the first time. Ella saw the  
strange look on his face. "Are you okay?"  
"Yeah, I just realized, I've never held him before."  
Ella could not help the smile that broke out. His words warmed her  
heart and made her feel less like she was not the only one over-reacting  
to this startling computer.  
  
"Michael?"  
"Hey, Kitt. How are you feeling?"  
"I'm fine, thank you."  
"And now the truth."  
Ella had not been sure whether to say anything to Michael and Bonnie or  
not, but she realized at that moment that she would not have to.  
"...I've been better."  
Michael gently started to rub the perceptor with his thumb. "I know,  
Pal, I know. There are technicians here. They're working on the car if  
you were wondering what all the noise is. They'll have it all fixed up  
within a few days. You'll feel better once you're back in the car, I'm  
sure."  
"Whoever attacked us meant to kill you, Michael." Kitt spoke quietly,  
and Ella got the distinct feeling that he wanted this to be a private  
discussion. She stood, wobbled slightly, then picked up her coffee and  
headed tactfully into the house.  
"Well, Bonnie isn't so sure about that, Kitt. She thinks they were  
after you."  
"Michael... I don't understand. Why?"  
"I don't know. It does make sense, if they were after me, there are  
easier ways. Someone went to a lot of trouble to set that up."  
  
Kitt seemed to think about that. Michael's eyes wondered to the  
activity on the other side of the garage, and in the back of the Semi  
where Bonnie was working along side one of the technicians. "Michael?"  
"Yeah, Kitt."  
"Is that you?"  
He brought his attention back to his partner. "Is what me?"  
"...Touching the perceptor."  
"Sorry, Kitt," he stopped, pulling his thumb away, mindful not to drop  
the small device.  
"You don't have to stop. It's... it's nice. It's comforting."  
Michael was touched, and resumed his delicate stroking. He wondered if  
it would be possible to have a perceptor inside the car, placed  
somewhere so that it would not be accidentally knocked. So that they  
had some way of touching Kitt, that he felt it. He sometimes missed  
being able to give Kitt the comfort of physical closeness.  
  
"Michael, has Ella left?"  
The question came unexpectedly. "No, I think she just went to shower  
and change. I think Devon was going to ask her to stay, at least for  
the weekend. Just in case something else comes up." He glanced down.  
"Why do you ask?"  
"I wouldn't want her to go without thanking her."  
The explanation was simple, and was what Michael would have expected  
from Kitt, but he had a feeling there was more going on here.  
  
Before he could ask about it, Kitt changed the subject again. "Why did  
you shout at me when I ejected you?"  
Michael instantly felt that twinge of anger he experienced every time  
he thought about the attack. "We're supposed to be in this together."  
He realized that he must have let some of his feelings into his voice  
when Kitt's own voice dropped considerably. "You're angry with me. I  
was only doing what I had to do to save your life. That is my primary  
function, Michael, you know that."  
He took a deep breath, releasing some of the pent-up tension. "I'm not  
angry with you, pal. But I wish you wouldn't give me that programming  
stuff, you've broken through that, I know you have."  
"I would still do everything I could to save your life when you're in  
danger. You're my partner and partners are supposed to do that. I  
could never let anything happen to you."  
Michael sighed. He could not argue with Kitt's logic; his friend was  
right. But that did not stop it from irking him. "It just seems that  
every time it comes to the crunch, you're in it on your own. It just  
feels wrong."  
"Does this mean... that you don't want to work with me anymore?"  
The suggestion shocked him. "No Kitt, God no, that's not what I'm  
saying. I could never work with anyone else."  
"Do you mean that?"  
"Of course. Kitt, never underestimate how much you mean to me, and how  
I feel about you. I will never leave you while I'm still alive, that's  
a promise."  
"I don't know what to say...."  
"That's okay, Pal. I know."  
  
Kitt really was not sure what to say. It was starting to overwhelm  
him. He desperately wanted to be back in the car, in surroundings he  
knew. This strange blindness he endured without his sensors was always  
difficult to cope with. There was usually data coming into his CPU at a  
constant, bombarding rate. He was used to dealing with chaos, sorting  
it and ordering it in milliseconds. But lack of data, almost like  
silence around him, despite the outside noise, could easily panic him,  
and he had to fight continuously to keep calm.  
  
Kitt found Michael's simple rubbing of the perceptor tremendously  
helpful, it gave him input, data to be handled, it also gave him a new  
contact to the outside world. He and Michael had been together for over  
seven years, it was all Kitt had ever known, yet in all that time, he  
had never felt as close to his driver as he did at this moment.  
  
**  
  
The skilled technicians worked through the day and well into the night,  
having estimated two days before the car would be ready to take the  
CPU. The new shell that they had been going on about when Bonnie had  
first contacted them, came with a brand new paint-job. Gone was the  
old, familiar black, replaced by epoxy; metallic paint with a golden hue  
that resembled highly polished metal, and caught light spectacularly,  
giving the impression of a very fast street machine. They even  
remodelled the front slightly, bringing the nose down in a touch more of  
a curve than the straight front the old car had had.  
  
By Sunday night, Ella still had no flight plans, and no intention of  
leaving unless they threw her out. Michael had spent most of the two  
days with Kitt, talking, playing games, anything to keep the computer  
occupied while he sat blind on the workbench, or more often in Michael's  
lap. Michael had mentioned the idea of an accessible perceptor to  
Bonnie, who had spoken to the technicians. It would be placed around  
the back of the steering wheel, in the top of the steering column. The  
input would be dampened down so as not to be a constant for Kitt to deal  
with, but he would be able to boost the signal if he wanted to. It  
would not be knocked accidentally and would be in a perfect position for  
Kitt to feel it when Michael hugged the steering wheel, an action Bonnie  
had noticed him do more often in the recent months.  
  
Devon watched the goings on from a distance, concerned about the  
motives for the attack that had caused all this. He was concerned about  
the ease with which their attackers had been able to get into the lab,  
they would have needed several codes; for the gates and for the doors  
they had to pass through.  
  
The police had gone over the lab with a fine tooth-comb, had picked up  
several sets of prints, all accounted for except one. A single index  
finger that linked the destruction to a man named William Clay. Clay  
was a collector of cars. He reputedly had the largest collection in the  
world, keeping them all in several garages erected on his estate just  
outside of Phoenix. He had made his money as an exclusive car dealer,  
able to get any car a customer requested for a very considerable price.  
His means were questionable, but his motive was impossible to figure.  
The man loved cars.  
  
Devon was convinced the destruction of the lab was tied into the  
attack; destroy Kitt and ensure he stayed destroyed by wiping out the  
backup. But why would a man like Clay attack the car, do as much damage  
as he had, and then simply leave the scene. Nothing made sense.  
  
He spent a lot of time wondering around the house, and had finally  
decided that once Kitt was ready, they would return to the estate in  
California. All his papers were there, the test track was there for the  
car to be put through its paces. And more importantly there was room,  
space for them all to try to relax, take a breath, and maybe even settle  
back into some semblance of normality.  
  
**  
  
The nights had been cold, but there had been no more rain or snow since  
that first night. Wrapped in several sweaters and a thick coat, that  
Devon had loaned her, Ella found that she was warm enough to sit outside  
and enjoy the marvellous views of the night sky. With no light  
pollution whatsoever, stars and galaxies could be seen in stunning  
detail.  
  
"Hi."  
Ella turned in the darkness and smiled. "Hi Bonnie."  
"I saw you sitting out here, I thought you might need a hot drink."  
Bonnie sat herself down on the wall, and let her legs dangle, handing  
her a mug. Ella sniffed at the drink.  
"Wow! Is this what I think it is?"  
"Hot chocolate, the nearest I ever come to cooking."  
She took a sip of the steaming liquid. "It's fantastic."  
"Thank you."  
Ella let the warmth from the mug heat her hands through the long  
sleeves of one of her sweaters. "How's Kitt?"  
"He's okay, shaken, upset, frightened... but he's still with us, and  
that's what's important."  
"You lot really care for him, don't you?"  
Bonnie nodded. "He's a member of the family."  
Ella smiled ironically. "My family spends most of their time arguing."  
  
Bonnie looked over at Ella curiously, but read nothing in her  
expression to give anything away. "Well, we have our times. Mind you,  
we usually bring it on ourselves."  
Ella frowned. "You surprise me. You all seem so... close, so  
understanding."  
"Well, in our line of work it's difficult." She sighed, remembering.  
"There was one case, we had to send Michael in undercover and the person  
we were after was a communications expert. We thought he may be able to  
penetrate Kitt's systems, so we didn't tell Kitt what was going on.  
There'd been break in at the Foundation, but nothing was stolen, and  
when we scanned the mansion, a tiny camera and transmitter had been  
placed in Devon's office. So Michael set himself up for arrest, and for  
suspension from the Foundation. He and Devon acted for the camera,  
staging arguments and such like. I could see Kitt getting more and more  
upset through it all. The guy we were after approached Michael like we  
hoped he would, took him on, and asked him to prove his loyalty by  
stealing Kitt. So Michael did. He broke into the garage, talked Kitt  
into going. Kitt belongs to Michael, he adores him, so we hoped that  
alone would be enough for him to go and it was. Everything was going  
perfectly." She smiled faintly at the memories.  
Ella was hooked. "What happened?"  
"Well, as we had expected, the guy asked Michael for more proof, asked  
him to get some key that was in Devon's possession, and to get rid of  
Devon in the process. They acted it all out in Devon's office, as  
planned, Michael shot him with a blank and Devon went down. Then  
Michael grabbed the key and tried to escape. What we didn't figure on  
was Kitt. He'd tapped into the transmitter, seen the whole act,  
believed it and when Michael tried to drive off, Kitt had refused to  
power up. We knocked out the transmitter, and Devon and I stood at the  
window watching. It struck me as hilarious at the time, watching  
Michael trying to move the car. We had to explain to Kitt what was  
going on, leaving it far too dangerous for Michael to return  
undercover. We lost the guy, he was arrested about a year later for  
something or other. Our real problem turned out to be Kitt, he honestly  
thought Michael had killed Devon, he had watched as his world shattered  
and he was devastated. We used to forget that Kitt can be hurt as much  
as, maybe more than, the rest of us can. He's still very young, and  
really we're all he's ever known. If he can't trust us, who the hell  
can he trust? He needs us, it's not like he can leave home." She shook  
her head. "I can't imagine how he must have felt, seeing that all slip  
away."  
"Bonnie, he's a computer. He's very human-like, but he is a computer,  
with programmed responses."  
Bonnie chuckled, and caught Ella's gaze. "You have no idea how often  
I've heard that. Mostly from Kitt himself." She shook her head. "His  
responses aren't programmed anymore, they never really were. We gave  
him some starting blocks to grow from, that was all."  
  
She turned her head, looking back into the garage where the lights were  
on over the lab area, despite it being the early hours of the morning.  
Ella followed Bonnie's eyes and saw Michael sitting in the comfy chair,  
Kitt on the workbench, playing chess. But even from this distance, Ella  
could make out Michael's hand, flat out on the bench, the test perceptor  
in his palm. "He really likes having someone holding that perceptor, he  
says it's comforting." Bonnie turned back to staring out over the  
extensive grounds, and the woodland surrounding them. "What made you  
think of that?"  
"I saw the function wasn't running and asked Kitt what it did. The  
idea just came to mind, I thought it might help him, he seemed very...  
shaken. It always helps to have someone holding your hand"  
Bonnie smiled knowingly. "So already you see him as more than just a  
computer, you care about his feelings."  
"Don't remind me."  
Bonnie grinned across at her, feeling very awake despite her lack of  
sleep over the passed days. "It's okay to feel that way. You just have  
to accept it. Michael said once that Kitt was special and unique, and  
he exacted special and unique reactions from people. I think that's how  
he rationalizes it when he needs to."  
For some reason, that sat well with Ella as if she too had been looking  
for a way to rationalize her own feelings. "Do you ever long for a  
normal life?"  
That made Bonnie laugh. "What's a normal life? A part time job,  
husband, kids, typing?"  
Ella shrugged. "Well...."  
"I love my life. I work with the most amazing technology, I'm always  
at the forefront of what's happening in my field. I do what I love  
doing, software and hardware engineering where it matters. I have Kitt,  
and I love him very much. And... I guess I've fallen in love with  
Michael."  
Ella grinned, "Have you told him?"  
"Not yet, I'd just reached the conclusion when this nightmare started."  
  
A comfortable silence fell between the two of them. Both became lost  
in thought. The slice of moon was clear over the trees in front of  
them. It was beautifully quiet, with only the rustle of the wildlife in  
the grounds. Devon had told Ella earlier that afternoon that she was  
quite welcome to stay, that Kitt seemed to like having her around, and  
that was enough for them. Part of her wanted to stay more than anything  
else in the world, but part of her wanted to leave it all behind, and  
make Kitt nothing more than a memory.  
"Bonnie, have you ever felt... more, for Kitt?"  
Ella honestly expected Bonnie to ask her what the hell she was talking  
about, but instead a knowing look crossed the technician's face. "He  
can be very... charming, Ella. Just remember that at the moment, he's  
very vulnerable, most of his usual emotional defences are down, and he  
needs people around him. When he's back in the car, when he's back to  
his normal self, then you'll get to know him as he is." Bonnie jumped  
down off the wall, and moved to stand by Ella's knees, to look up into  
her unreadable expression. "And believe me, that's when it'll get  
difficult."  
  
Bonnie left Ella to her thoughts and headed into the garage to check on  
her two men. Ella finished the last of her hot chocolate, but did not  
move from where she was sitting until the sun came up. She lived in  
California, as near to Hollywood as made no odds. The sunsets were  
fantastic, but there was never any peace, always a club, or working  
late, never time to sit and think. It had been a long time since she  
was alone with her thoughts. And now she was, she was starting to  
realize just how much was missing from her life. Mind you, an  
over-intelligent computer was not going to fill that hole.  
  
Kitt had won. Again. Michael had played seven games against his  
partner and lost every one. As she entered the garage, Bonnie heard  
Michael saying, "You could at least _let_ me win on."  
"Michael, you really wouldn't want me to throw a game, would you?"  
"Well...."  
"Michael!"  
The familiar banter, almost predictable, had kept their relationship  
going for the past seven years. It kept them sane in an insane world.  
It made them feel safe with each other when their lives were dangerous  
and unpredictable. Sometimes Kitt's own brand of logic irritated  
Michael, but then he was sure that he often drove Kitt mad, so they were  
even.  
  
"Michael," Bonnie spoke quietly as she sat up on the workbench.  
"Hi Bon."  
"Good evening, Bonnie."  
"Kitt, it's nearly four am, it's hardly the evening."  
She was joking, expecting a sharp retort, but none came. Bonnie  
frowned, and Michael shrugged, gently placing the perceptor on the  
sponge next to the casing, and beckoning for her to follow him outside.  
"Give me a moment, okay Kitt?"  
"Of course, Michael."  
  
They got outside before Bonnie nailed Michael with a  
more-than-concerned stare. Michael backed off a step or two.  
"He's been like this all day, it's little things that wouldn't usually  
bother him but seem to be upsetting him at the moment."  
"Have you talked to him?"  
"I've spent all day...."  
But Bonnie shook her head, interrupting him. "I mean, really talked to  
him, about how he's feeling." Michael sighed. He was tired,  
exhausted. Bonnie saw it in his eyes; he was wasted, but still trying  
to hold it together. "Kitt needs you, Michael. I know it's hard...."  
This time it was his turn. "It's not hard, Bonnie. He's my best  
friend, my partner. I just wish I knew what to say."  
Bonnie nodded, understanding exactly how he felt. "What have you said  
before? You've managed to get him to open up in the past."  
"He just seemed more willing to talk before. This time it seems  
different. I think...."  
"What?"  
"I think he's embarrassed about his reaction to all this."  
Bonnie nodded. She motioned towards the still figure of Ella sitting  
on the wall some way from them, with her back to them. "I was talking  
to Ella yesterday about it. She seemed to think that he may take some  
time to get over this one."  
"For someone who's only known him a few days, she seems to have become  
quite close to him."  
Bonnie smiled, "She has become very fond of him."  
There was a certain amount of subtle hint in her voice, but Michael did  
not pick up on it. He had seen how careful Ella had been with Kitt,  
with the perceptor that she had activated. She was obviously seeing his  
partner as much more than a machine already. Bonnie looked carefully at  
  
Michael. "You need some sleep. How are you feeling?"  
"Lucky." He smiled as he rubbed the back of his neck. "Very lucky."  
  
**  
  
Ella showered early Monday morning; feeling refreshed despite the very  
few hours' sleep that she had had. Bonnie was up making breakfast and  
brewing coffee by the time Ella wondered into the kitchen. Outside, the  
technicians were already at work. "How's the car coming?"  
Bonnie put a mug in Ella's hand. "It should be ready by this evening.  
We'll put Kitt back as soon as we can. It's important that we get him  
back on his feet, so to speak, as fast as possible." Ella nodded.  
"Bonnie, if there's anything I can do.... I do feel like I've barged  
in here. Even though I didn't want to come when Devon first called, now  
  
I feel in no hurry to leave. I hope you don't mind me being here, and  
anything I can do for you, please just ask."  
"I don't mind you being here, none of us do.... I know Kitt  
appreciates you." She lapsed back into silence.  
"What's wrong?"  
Bonnie leant heavily against the cupboards. "There's something up with  
Kitt. He's not responding to things as he used to, he seems nervous, as  
if something's bothering him."  
"He's bound to be slightly preoccupied. He's probably still in a  
little bit of shock."  
"I know, but we have had situations like this before, times when Kitt's  
been injured, or the car's been damaged.... There's something else  
here, I'm sure of it. I just hope he finds the courage to talk to us."  
Ella placed a gentle hand on Bonnie's arm, "I think once you get him  
back into the car, he'll be much better, much more comfortable."  
  
**  
  
Michael loved it. He loved what they had done to the exterior, he  
loved what they had done to the interior. But most of all he loved it  
when he climbed into the car that Monday night, and the voice display  
lit up in delight.  
"Michael, it's good to have you back there."  
"So you're not going to throw me out this time, Kitt?" The comment had  
been meant as a joke, but the computer went quiet. "Aw, Kitt, I'm  
sorry. Ella said to be careful. You saved my life, Pal. Again. I owe  
you so much and I feel I'll never find a way to repay you."  
"There's no need to look, Michael." Another pause, before he decided  
to wait to say what he wanted so desperately to say. "So, how do I  
look?"  
"You look fantastic, Kitt. I wish you could see yourself."  
"Unfortunately the new detailed scanners only look inside the car. But  
I can see you, in a manner of speaking."  
Michael smiled. "And how do I look?"  
There was another pause before Kitt replied, "Wonderfully familiar."  
Michael felt the warm affection radiating through Kitt's words and he  
revelled in it.  
"So, how about a drive?"  
  
Michael had half-expected to have to coax Kitt back out onto the road,  
but the car seemed happy enough to play with the bends and curves  
revealed as they drove further into the woodland. Letting Kitt drive,  
Michael settled back and enjoyed the scenery, enjoyed being back in his  
own car, with the familiar, comfortable feeling of safety the Trans-Am  
had always given him. The moonlight caught the hood through the trees,  
the light playing off the new paint-work. The new colour allowed  
reflections of the spectrum and even from inside it looked stunning.  
  
The dash looked a little less like 'Darth Vader's bathroom'. The same  
functionality had been incorporated into a much less understated panel  
of small buttons, still far enough apart that Michael would not hit the  
wrong one, and still in the same order and basic location that they had  
always been. He hardly ever looked down anymore, he knew where each  
function was and it had been a long time since he had accidentally hit  
the wrong one. The single monitor screen was now four, smaller ones in  
a video-wall configuration. The double-handled joystick-style steering  
had been swapped for an ordinary wheel several years ago, at Michael's  
request. But Kitt was still the same as he had always been. He had  
grown up, matured along with the people around him, become easier to get  
along with, although Michael still sometimes thought he was too like  
Devon in some ways, too like himself in others.  
  
An hour later, with Kitt still driving, Michael checked out some of the  
other functions. The scanners, external and internal, now had extended  
range and more detailed input and display capabilities. And a single,  
tiny lens in the dash gave Kitt a startlingly detailed image of his  
driver; a clearer picture than he had ever had. Added to that, Bonnie  
had once again managed a slight increase in speed along with the  
additional braking that required.  
Still Kitt seemed very quiet.  
Michael had been wondering how to rile his partner enough to get him to  
tell Michael what was wrong, and earlier on he had finally figured out  
what to do. He had an idea; all he had to do was lead into it.  
"Kitt," Michael started, "I've been doing a lot of thinking over the  
last few days. I mean, the drive up here was very quiet without anyone  
to talk to, and there's been a lot of sitting around to do, waiting for  
the repairs and everything to be completed...."  
It worked.  
"Please, Michael, don't." Michael waited as Kitt pulled the car over,  
stopped safely in amongst the nearest trees. "I failed you." He said  
simply. "I should have scanned the truck before we jumped, I should  
have known, gone around the obstruction instead of over. Once we were  
airborne there was no way to abort without putting your life in danger,  
I knew if you stayed in the car you'd be killed. It would have been my  
fault. As it was I ejected you and you still got hurt. I endangered  
your life. That's unforgivable. And I understand that we can't work  
together if I can't do my job, if I can't protect you. I'm sorry."  
  
By the time Kitt finished, Michael was fighting back tears. He let out  
a deep sigh, and leaned his forehead against the steering wheel. "Kitt,  
listen to me. Do you remember what I told you, over the laptop, when  
Bonnie re-initialized the system?"  
"Yes. You told me..." Kitt hesitated, dropped the volume of his  
voice. "You told me you loved me."  
"I do love you, Kitt. And I need you to know that, and to remember  
it. We were out on a drive, talking about our Christmas vacation,  
discussing where you wanted to go 'cause I chose last year. We weren't  
being chased, we weren't on a case, we weren't on alert, we were just  
cruising. And a truck pulled out of a junction in front of us. There  
were drops on both sides, a narrow road; the only way was over. We may  
have been breaking the speed limit, but I was driving, it was my fault  
that we were going too fast to stop. Kitt, we've done the same thing a  
thousand times. We always go over, it's more fun, it's safer than  
suddenly darting out into the other side of the road. No one's to blame  
for what happened. Maybe if we had been on alert we'd have done it  
differently. I don't know. We did what we did. We were attacked. You  
saved my life."  
"I ejected you against your wishes...."  
"Because you knew that I wouldn't eject."  
"You were angry that I did it...."  
"Only because... because we're partners, a team, and I hate the thought  
that you're programmed to sacrifice yourself for me. I feel that it  
isn't fair."  
"But Michael, that's why I'm here, to protect you."  
"Kitt...."  
"And even if I hadn't been programmed that way," Kitt continued, "I'd  
have done the same thing, I would always do the same thing, because  
you're my friend and my partner. I never expected things to be this  
way. When we first met I thought we would have a working relationship  
at best, a few cursory words in the morning and then me simply giving  
you information when you asked for it. What we have is beyond anything  
I...."  
"Anything you dreamt of." Michael finished quietly, touched.  
"Yes."  
"So you've been worrying that because you did the only thing you could  
have done, under the circumstances, and because you saved my life and  
endangered your own, I wouldn't want to be working with you anymore? Is  
that right?" He kept his tone infinitely gentle, hoping to get  
everything, all of Kitt's worries and fears, out into the open so that  
they could deal with them.  
"Yes...."  
"You're wrong. I meant what I said when you were in the garage. I  
wouldn't ever want to work with anyone else. If I lost you, I don't  
think I could go on working for the Foundation. If I lost you...." He  
thought back to the moment Bonnie had told him, with her eyes alone,  
that there was nothing more she could do, that Kitt was gone, and he let  
that terrible empty feeling return to memory. "I thought you were dead  
back there, I thought I would somehow have to go on without you, and I  
wasn't sure how the hell I was going to do that. You feel that you're  
responsible for my life, well Kitt, I feel the same way about you."  
  
In the quiet that followed, Michael wrapped his arms around the  
steering wheel, letting his thumb brush against the perceptor. He  
thought, for a moment, that he heard a hum of contentment from the voice  
box, but he could not be sure.  
"Michael," Kitt said eventually, "thank you."  
"So are we okay? Because if there's anything else bothering you, I  
want you to be able to talk to me about it, about anything."  
"We're okay Michael, but I will remember that."  
"Okay. You want to drive?"  
"If I may...."  
Michael sat back, grinning. "Be my guest."  
  



	2. Retreat To Navada

Two - Retreat to Nevada  
  
Ella let loose an appreciative whistle as they pulled up in front of  
the Knight mansion. _This_ was more like it. Here was her lab, with  
the scientists and technicians running around wearing white coats and  
panicking. The lab, that had been demolished only days before, was  
quickly being rebuilt and re-equipped. Michael and Kitt had arrived  
earlier and now there were technicians fussing around the car. Ella  
frowned as she stepped out of the Limo. She caught Devon's attention  
and indicated the commotion. "Is it always like this?"  
  
Devon raised his eyebrows questioningly and followed Ella's pointed  
finger. He shook his head. "Oh no, they're just concerned for him.  
They'll settle down once they know he's okay. Kitt's well cared for  
around here. _And_ this is the first time they've seen the new look  
Knight 2000. I think they're also curious."  
  
Ella leaned on the top of the Limo that had collected them from the  
airport. For some reason that she could not put her finger on, it  
unsettled her to see Kitt being prodded and poked at, even if they were  
not strangers. She had not realized that she was staring until Bonnie  
sidled up behind her, and whispered quietly, "Stop drooling."  
  
Ella immediately turned away, embarrassed. But Bonnie just laughed,  
and continued inside. Ella was about to follow when Devon called after  
her. "I just wanted to say," he started, as he walked her into the  
mansion, "that you're welcome to stay as long as you like. I'd be quite  
happy to speak to your boss...."  
"Thank you, Devon. They owe me enough vacation time. I spoke to Jerry  
this morning, he was okay with it."  
Devon smiled at her. As far as Ella could make out, Devon only had two  
expressions, smiling and frowning. She liked him a lot. She liked the  
way he played father and boss to these people, and the way he knew which  
to be when.  
"I appreciate you letting me stay on. I would really like to know that  
Kitt's okay."  
"Well, I don't think he is at the moment, but he will be." Again he  
looked as if there was something more he wanted to say, but instead he  
took a step back. "If you'll excuse me, Ella, I'm sure there's a  
mountain of paperwork waiting for me. Please, make yourself at home.  
Bonnie will show you around, if you can find her."  
"Thanks Devon, I'll be fine."  
  
**  
  
As the crowd moved into the garage, the commotion around Kitt  
increased. More technicians who worked closely with the car started to  
realize that the computer's reactions and retorts were not as they used  
to be. Michael watched the scene with mixed emotions, becoming more  
concerned by the minute. Bonnie was also watching from the new lab  
section of the garage. Both could feel Kitt's growing agitation, and  
both saw the car shift into gear and start to reverse, obviously mindful  
of the people around, but also as obviously needing to get out of  
there. From the garage door, Michael took a step forward, but Bonnie  
was closer, and with one startling shout she cleared the technicians  
from around the car. She started to close on Kitt, but the car  
continued to pull back. "Come on, Kitt, it's okay."  
  
But instead of stopping, they all heard Kitt's unusually soft voice,  
"I'm sorry, Bonnie, I need some time." He pulled a neat 180-degree turn  
and passed by Michael in the doorway. He watched the car leave, but did  
not say a word. He knew Kitt too well, had spent too much time with  
him, not to know when he needed to be left alone.  
  
The technicians had cleared from the garage, mumbling and muttering  
amongst themselves. Only Bonnie remained behind. When she saw Michael  
approaching her, she pushed off the workbench, taking a step towards  
him. "I'm sorry. I didn't know they'd get like that."  
"It's okay, Bonnie. You didn't know Kitt would get like that either."  
She sighed. "How is he?"  
Michael shrugged. "He was very quiet on the way here. I think he just  
needs time, like he said, and a lot of understanding."  
Bonnie walked across to where Kitt had been standing in the garage. "I  
don't get what's going on here. Michael, he's never been this upset  
before. Not since...."  
She stopped, and Michael frowned, "Since when?"  
"Since the time of your vacation in Rio."  
  
Michael tried to remember back, his memories of that holiday were  
incredible, basking in the heat, the women, the relaxation. Kitt had  
been quiet around then, it was part of the reason Devon had sent him  
off, because Michael had put Kitt's distraction down to his own  
exhaustion and stress. "I thought it was just me being.... Sometimes  
my behaviour rubs off on him. He'll take his cues from me, and often if  
I'm quiet, he will be too."  
Bonnie shook her head, and met Michael's confused gaze with her own.  
"He was definitely acting strange around then. Although you are right  
in that when you got back, he seemed fine again." She smiled at him as  
he stepped towards her. "Maybe you do have a greater influence on him  
than I thought."  
  
Michael's expression changed as he saw the definite twinkle in her  
eye. She closed the gap between them. "Maybe you have a greater  
influence than I thought... on me too."  
For one moment, the look on her face blew everything else out of his  
mind. His heart started pounding. "Bonnie..."  
She reached down and took his hands in hers. "Michael, at the moment  
Kitt is more important to me than anything else. Whatever's going on,  
he's going to need us at some point. But I wanted to tell you...."  
Michael's fingertips on her cheek took the words from her lips. She  
shivered lightly as he bent slowly and touched his lips to hers.  
"I've wanted to tell you too," he murmured, "for a long time."  
"You have?"  
"I have."  
"Why haven't you said anything?"  
"Because I'm a coward? Why haven't you?"  
"Because I'm a coward?"  
  
Her lips touched again to his, and this time Michael was not going to  
waste the moment. He brought his hands up to her shoulders, gently  
sweeping his tongue over her mouth. He felt her fingers in his hair,  
felt her against his body. He could not remember how long he had wanted  
this, how many times he had thought about holding her in his arms,  
kissing her thoroughly, making love to her....  
  
Bonnie relaxed into Michael's warm embrace. He tasted incredible, felt  
fantastic, and finally she felt she was where she belonged. When they  
parted, Michael was smiling at her. "Michael...." she started, but he  
interrupted her.  
"I know. Kitt first, us later."  
"But not too much later...."  
"Definitely not."  
  
**  
  
Kitt did not go very far. Too preoccupied to drive anywhere, he  
maneuvered further into the grounds of the rambling estate until he  
believed himself to be alone. Wilton Knight must have liked his trees,  
Kitt mused. The other place had been surrounded by woodland, and  
although their California home was not quite so buried, there was still  
enough for Kitt to lose himself in it; metaphorically speaking.  
  
He knew his behaviour had been unexpected, and that he was adding to  
the concerns of his friends. But he had enough to cope with at the  
moment, things that went beyond the attack, things no one knew about.  
Alice.  
Kitt had believed that he had rid himself of the terrible images she  
had plagued him with during the three months she was hacking into his  
systems. When he had finally tracked her down, closed the door on her  
once and for all, he had gathered together everything, all the data,  
every false memory she had left him with, and deleted them. But Alice  
had been a skilled programmer, an expert hacker, and she had left behind  
something he had not been aware of until after Ella's program had  
revived him. Somehow, as well as hacking into his internal systems, she  
had hacked in to the backup mainframe which had been standing by, ready  
to take the backup the C.E.E.P.S. program sent to it, and store it until  
recovery had been possible and safe.  
  
He had seen it, that first flash just after Bonnie had restarted the  
program. He had tried to push it away; he had deleted as much as he  
could find then. But there was more, surfacing bit by bit, tied in  
irrevocably with critical parts of his own software. However she had  
done it, she had been thorough. Kitt had never known why she had chosen  
him. Never known why she had hacked in over and over, each time leaving  
no trace, only the horrific images and suggestions, and by the time Kitt  
noticed them there, she was already out. Over ninety times in three  
months.  
  
And then Michael had gone on vacation. And while he partied with the  
girls, Kitt had sat silently in the parking lot of the hotel in Rio and  
fought back. He had waited, every bit of processing power monitoring  
his own systems. He shut down everything else, losing track of time, of  
his surroundings, of _himself_ as he waited. The moment she had entered  
his systems he had been aware of it. He had used that open connection  
to track her back to her own computer, and in furious, desperate  
retaliation he had destroyed everything he had found there. He had  
wiped hard disks, memory, cache, anything and everything until there was  
nothing left. And then he had severed the link between them. That had  
been the last he had heard from her. Until now.  
  
Through it all, he had never said a word to Michael, Bonnie, or anyone  
about the continuous attacks. They had noticed his behaviour becoming a  
little distracted, but he had succeeded in keeping his fear and horror  
to himself. He had known then, as he knew now, that they would want to  
know exactly what she had done, the memories she had left him with. And  
he was too humiliated to show them, to even tell them. He had been  
violated at the lowest level. He had felt it his business, no one  
else's.  
  
But this time, he knew he could not get rid of the data by himself. It  
was too tied to his programming, as if somehow she had managed to merge  
the images with the data sent during the recovery. He needed to talk to  
Ella. But how could he ask for her help without telling her why.  
  
"Kitt?"  
  
Her voice startled him. Seldom had he been this involved with himself  
that he had stopped monitoring his surroundings. "Ella, I'm sorry....  
I was thinking."  
"I saw you leave the garage, and I thought maybe you needed to  
talk.... I can leave if you want to be alone?"  
"No, not at all." He popped open the driver's side door. "Please. I  
really do need to talk to you."  
Ella climbed in, letting Kitt close the door after her. She had hoped  
that once they put the computer back in the car, her feelings concerning  
Kitt would settle down. This _was_ a car, for God's sake. But if  
anything her emotions were more mixed up now then they had been back in  
Canada.  
  
"I need your help, Ella."  
"Sure, Kitt, anything." She wondered what she could possibly do that  
this wonder-computer could not.  
"When the recovery program sent the data back to the system, some other  
data, that had been on the backup mainframe became... caught up  
somehow. Is there anyway we can filter that corrupted data out, using  
the original back-up files?"  
Ella thought for a moment. She knew how to do it; it was what she had  
been planning on doing when Devon had told her that the original  
recovery had not worked. It was what she had spent most of the flight  
from California researching. What was bothering her was that it seemed  
highly unlikely that what Kitt was talking about would have occurred at  
all. "It's relatively easy to do, Kitt. But I don't understand...."  
"Please, Ella, just do it."  
There was something about the tone of his voice, he sounded... tired,  
yet there was a hint of desperation. "Have you told Bonnie or Michael  
about this?"  
"No. I can't...."  
"Kitt...."  
  
He never knew why he did it, he had never, ever meant to. But suddenly  
he just wanted someone else to know, to understand what he had been  
through, what he had rid himself of only to find it returned to him.  
And some instinct told him that Ella would not be shocked or  
embarrassed, she might just understand. He flashed one of the images up  
onto just one of the four small monitors on the dashboard.  
  
Ella was taken by surprise. Her eyes widened and she stared at the  
screen in silence, her fingers moving unstoppably to touch the image  
being shown to her. Even though she thought she already knew the  
answer, she asked anyway. "What's this, Kitt?"  
"Lots of those were placed in my memory."  
In a voice that was barely a whisper she asked, "Who did this to you?"  
"All I know was that her name was Alice."  
Ella felt tears come to her eyes, surprising herself and Kitt with her  
reaction. "Alice Through the Looking Glass," she breathed, not taking  
her fingers from the screen, unable to tear her eyes from the image  
before her.  
"Pardon?"  
"She's infamous. She's a hacker, breaks into people machines and...  
mirrors their own nightmares back at them. She uses current data on the  
system to find out about people. She sends images, text, sounds...."  
Kitt was silent. This woman had not chosen him alone, she had chosen  
many people, done this to others. "Do you think she knew what I was?"  
"I don't know, Kitt. Were all the images like this?"  
"No. There were... different types... some bizarre, some like that  
one... very clear."  
Ella tapped her fingertips against the glass, deep in thought. "I can  
get rid of these, I can store the passed few days of your memory and  
bring the backup in straight from source. The mainframe's here, isn't  
it?"  
"Yes, in the lab."  
"I'll do it as soon as everyone turns in for the night."  
"You won't tell... Bonnie or Michael?"  
"No, I won't."  
  
And still the image remained on the screen.  
And the _feelings_ remained with it.  
Isolation. From everyone and everything.  
Devastation. Of his own doing.  
Violence. Against the people he loved.  
His own worst nightmares, things he had never even contemplated before  
Alice had shown them to him.  
  
**  
  
send  
  
"That better, Kitt?"  
"Much better, thank you, Ella."  
"Are you going to be okay?"  
"Yes. Now."  
  
Ella switched off the Black Daemon, disconnected the wires and closed  
the hood of the car. Gently she touched the shimmering body-work,  
hesitating before she ran careful fingertips across the scanner track.  
"Do you ever... sleep?"  
"I close down all higher functions when everyone's sleeping, unless I  
have things to do."  
"Meaning what? What functions do you leave on?"  
"There's always input to be processed from Michael's comlink, and I  
usually monitor what's happening around me. Why do you ask?"  
Ella moved around the car and sat down in the open driver's side.  
"I'm... interested."  
"In me?" There was an edge to Kitt's question that told Ella he was  
maybe asking more than he seemed to be, but she chose to ignore it.  
"Yeah, in you. You seem about as human as any human I've ever met."  
"Ella, please don't see me as something I'm not. I'm made up of neural  
nets and bubble chips."  
Ella sighed, exasperated. "Tell me, Kitt, why is it you are the only  
one around here that still thinks of you as a computer?"  
"Because I am a computer," he insisted. "I've noticed that Michael and  
Bonnie have a tendency to ignore that fact, but it doesn't mean that  
it's not true."  
  
Ella pointed across to her own laptop sitting on the workbench in front  
of Kitt's nose. "That's a computer, Kitt. It just sits there until you  
plug it in and switch it on, and then it only does what you tell it to  
do. Don't tell me you're the same as that." There was an appeal in  
Ella's voice.  
  
But Kitt's voice held the same tone. "I'm not saying that I'm the same  
as your laptop. That's like comparing this car to a push-bike. But my  
make-up is basically the same, if more advanced. I may sound slightly  
human but I'm not."  
"Believe me, you sound much more than _slightly_ human."  
Kitt fell silent, unable to see anywhere else to take his argument.  
Ella also went quiet, and after a short while, she stood, closing Kitt's  
door carefully. "Get some rest, Kitt, you deserve it. I think we got  
rid of all Alice's little tricks, all you should be left with is the  
knowledge that it happened, rather then the memory. If we've missed  
anything, you tell me?"  
"Of course. Thank you, Ella. For everything."  
"It's not a problem. I do care for you, computer or not. Just  
remember that."  
"I just hope that you care for me because of what I am, not what you  
perceive me to be."  
  
Ella's hand fell gently to the flawless body-work beside her. For a  
moment, she lingered, touching him, realizing that he felt almost warm  
to the touch. She figured it was the molecular bonding that gave the  
warmth, rather than the usual cold metal of other cars. "You're very  
special," she whispered, "that's why I care for you."  
  
Leaving almost reluctantly, Ella closed the door of the garage quietly  
behind her, and nearly walked straight into a guilty-looking Devon.  
"How is he?"  
Ella frowned. "He's fine, we were just chatting."  
Devon stepped away from the door, and met her questioning gaze  
directly. Finally, as if he had wanted to say the words for a long,  
long time, he spoke. "I knew about Alice."  
  
**  
  
It was a busy night. At just gone twelve, less than ten minutes after  
Ella left, Michael made his way down into the garage. He had been lying  
awake, thinking about Bonnie, and about Kitt, the urge to drive had  
taken him. It had been too long since he and his invigorating partner  
had simply driven together, for no other reason than to enjoy the speed,  
the night, and each other.  
  
He opened the car door and climbed in to the driver's seat. "Kitt."  
"Michael."  
Michael started the engine and keyed open the automatic garage door.  
He backed the car out, and started down the drive, turning out at the  
end on to the open road. Neither of them spoke until they passed  
through the town and out the other side, onto the desert highway. The  
sliver of the moon was dim, the stars above them were bright. It was  
beautiful.  
  
**  
  
"She sent me a message, just after Kitt locked her out of his systems  
and destroyed her machine." Devon sat down hard behind his desk, and  
reached over to press the switch on the desk lamp, brightly illuminating  
that area of the room, leaving the rest in gradual shades of darkness.  
He leaned towards Ella as she pulled up one of the old-fashioned chairs  
and curled into it as best as she could, arms folded on the desk between  
them. Devon spoke quietly. "It was simply in the form of an email,  
sent anonymously. There was... a picture, with the words, 'He's seen it  
all.' written at the bottom."  
"What was the picture of?"  
"It wasn't at all pleasant."  
"Neither was what Kitt showed me. What was it of?"  
He took a deep breath. "It was of Kitt, a close up of the front end of  
the car. The hood and windshield were covered in... blood, and worse.  
Michael's blood. It was quite graphic"  
"How do you know it was Michael's blood?"  
"Because..." he swallowed hard. "There was a battered hand, reaching  
up, palm on the hood, like someone reaching from the floor. You could  
only see the hand and wrist, but the comlink was clearly visible."  
Devon stopped, obviously upset even now, after all this time. "I felt  
so sick when I saw it." He took in a deep breath. "The email was  
signed simply 'Alice'."  
"What did the message say?"  
"Basically, it informed me that we had destroyed her machine, that we  
had won."  
Ella frowned. "She admitted that she was beaten?"  
"I believe she used the words, 'worthy adversary' in describing us. I  
think she thought that we as a group had been instrumental in reeking  
havoc with her machine, whereas I know Kitt is quite capable of  
accomplishing that on his own."  
Ella leaned back. "Did you ever tell anyone, show the picture to  
anyone?"  
Devon shook his head. "I am ashamed to say that I didn't."  
  
Ella took all this in. For a while she was lost in silent thought.  
They heard the turbine hum of Kitt's engine, and Devon stood, checking  
out of the curtains to see Michael taking his car out for a drive. He  
shook his head slowly, and turned from the window. "Could I offer you a  
drink?" There was little cheer in his voice.  
"That would be good. Bourbon, if you have it."  
Devon nodded and made his way to the well-proportioned drinks cabinet.  
Ella heard the chink of expensive crystal on glass, and moments later he  
handed her a generous measure of finest bourbon. "Thank you. Devon,  
why did you never say anything to Kitt?"  
  
Devon finished pouring his own drink, a very expensive brandy, and sat  
back down, nursing the heavy glass as he leant back in the chair. "I'm  
ashamed to say that I was afraid to. I wasn't sure what she had sent to  
him, whether he had wiped his memory of it completely, and... and what  
his reaction might be if I brought the subject up."  
Ella was horrified. She stared at Devon in shock. "You were scared of  
him?"  
"I... I don't know. No, not scared exactly. I kept seeing that  
picture in my mind. Kitt has changed so much since we first switched  
him on. He's broken through his programming to the point that we  
honestly don't know his limits anymore."  
"He could never hurt anyone!"  
"I know that, here." He placed his hand over his heart. Wrongly, as  
everyone always did. "But I couldn't keep that image out of my head,  
for months."  
"And what do you think it did to him?"  
  
Devon fell silent, and suddenly Ella was on her feet, too many  
sleepless nights finally catching up with her. "Why does everyone  
side-step around him?"  
Devon looked up, surprised by her outburst. "What?"  
"I've watched you, and the technicians, and the rest of the staff.  
Michael and Bonnie seem to be the only people around here who can act  
naturally with him. What if Kitt had reacted badly? What if he'd done  
the electronic equivalent of bursting in to tears?"  
Devon smiled nervously, "That's preposterous...."  
"Why? He has so many other human traits. Do you know why he endured  
three months of continuous attack by Alice without telling any of you?"  
Devon looked down, and Ella moved closer to the desk, raising her finger  
to push her point. "Because he was too ashamed. I believe that Alice  
figured out what she was dealing with. I've seen some of the images she  
placed in Kitt's memory. Scenes of violation; rape. But not as you or  
I would know it, only as Kitt would know it, understand it." She could  
feel the tears welling in her eyes. "He trusts you, he looks up to you,  
you're his mentor and his friend."  
  
There was a loaded silence, before she heard Devon whisper, "I'm  
sorry."  
Ella held on to her anger for a moment longer, then released it in a  
deep, resigning breath. "No, I am." She took a sip of the strong  
alcohol. "I'm probably making a bigger deal out of it than it really  
was. Kitt's okay. He... he deals with things like that in a more...  
analytical way than we do. But I saw some of it when I purged his  
systems for him... and you're right, it wasn't very pleasant." She took  
another sip. She looked up around her, at the photos on the wall.  
Moving in front of one, she smiled. "Did Bonnie take this?"  
  
Devon nodded, watching Ella intently. "Yes. She'd been taking photos  
of Michael washing the car, and that just... happened."  
It was a beautiful photo; man and car in perfect harmony. Michael  
sitting on the path outside the Wilton Knight mansion, sponge in hand.  
Kitt had driven up to him, by the looks of it, so that the tip of the  
hood was gently pressed up against Michael's neck. Michael was smiling;  
his head tipped sideways, almost snuggling against Kitt, a happy smile  
lighting his face. "It's gorgeous."  
"It is a favourite of mine." Devon stood, coming to Ella's side.  
"Whatever you think, Ella, I am very fond of Kitt."  
Ella turned to him, gently touching his arm. "I didn't mean.... I  
know you care for them. Believe me, I understand that." Her eyes  
wondered back to the photo, and Devon saw it.  
"Could I give you some advice?" His voice was quiet, and Ella again  
shifted her attention. But before she could answer he continued. "The  
path your heart is taking you down is an impossible one." Ella caught  
her breath, and could nothing but stay silent as Devon finished his  
drink and set the glass on the desk-top. "Why don't you tell me  
something about yourself."  
  
**  
  
Finally Michael pulled the car off the highway and out into the  
desert. Neither of them had said a word for the entire journey. Now,  
as he cut the engine, still the silence between them continued.  
  
After a long time, Michael leaned forward and hooked his hand behind  
the steering wheel, finding the perceptor and gently covering it with  
his palm, pressing carefully. He rested his chin against the top of the  
wheel and sighed contentedly. His actions lead Kitt to break the  
silence. "Michael, you seem very relaxed. I thought when you came to  
get me you had something awful to say."  
"Aw, Kitt, no... I just wanted to spend some time alone with my  
partner. Is that so terrible?"  
"Absolutely not, Michael." His voice dropped in volume. "It's very  
flattering." That won him a smile from his partner. "We usually spend  
so much time together, I must admit to having missed it these past few  
days."  
"Really?" His voice held a suggestive edge, but Kitt was not taking  
the bait.  
"Of course. As you always say, we make a good team."  
"Umm...." The human nodded. "There is something I want to talk to you  
about, although it's nothing awful, and I need you to believe me when I  
say it won't change anything."  
"I'm very glad to hear that."  
Michael smiled. "It's about me and Bonnie."  
Immediately Kitt cheered. "Michael, that's so wonderful! It really is  
about time."  
Michael was stunned. "How did you know...?"  
"Please, Michael, grant me some intelligence."  
Michael huffed, but nothing could break his mood. "Do you mind?"  
"Why should I mind? I love you both, you make a wonderful couple."  
"Thanks partner." Michael turned his head to rest his cheek against  
the warm patch on the steering wheel. "I mean it when I say it won't  
change things. Neither Bonnie nor I want to marry, and we feel like we  
already have a big enough family."  
  
Kitt let Michael's words fill the empty, dark places that Alice's  
sabotage had left, with warmth and compassion. Not for the first time,  
he wished he could hug Michael back, just hold him with the love that  
Michael was showing him. But he could not. "I sometimes wonder what  
you feel like." Kitt's words were spoken so quietly, Michael barely  
heard them, but they filtered into his consciousness, through his  
reverie.  
"Soft and squishy, with some hard bits," he joked softly, "nothing  
special, Pal."  
"I just wish I could return your embraces now and again."  
"Kitt...." He murmured his partner's name with infinite affection.  
"Being in here, being surrounded by you... When I'm with you, it's the  
safest I've ever felt in my life. You hold me all the time."  
  
They lapsed into another comfortable silence, and Kitt's processes  
started to wonder somewhere he really had not meant for them to go.  
"Michael?"  
"Yes?"  
"Could I ask you something?"  
Michael lifted his head, leaving his hand over the perceptor, knowing  
that Kitt appreciated the physical link it created between them.  
"Anything." There was a pause.  
"Do women find me... attractive?"  
Michael was stunned by the question. "In what sense?"  
"In any sense."  
"Well... a lot of women are drawn to fast, sleek cars."  
"Really?"  
"Yeah, many women do find fast cars very sexy."  
"Would you say that was the main reason that a woman would show a lot  
of interest in me?"  
  
Alarm bells started going off in Michael's head. These were not the  
kind of questions he was used to hearing from his partner. These  
questions definitely had a reason behind them. And he thought he knew  
who the reason was. "Not necessarily. I would separate women being  
interested in the _car_, and women being interested in _you_. Some  
women may like the look of the car, but that's not the same as someone  
becoming fond of you, as a person." He winced, that sounded _so_  
corny. But he honestly was not sure how else to put it. "Kitt, is this  
about Ella?"  
"She has shown me a great deal of... affection from the start."  
Michael nodded. "She is very fond of you." He tried to keep his voice  
non-committal. He really did not have a clue how Ella felt about Kitt.  
He had not really spoken to her, and although Bonnie had dropped some  
hints, he had been too preoccupied with Kitt's well-being, and the  
developments in his relationship with Bonnie, to think about it. Now he  
realized just how important this was becoming, to Kitt, and maybe to  
himself. Because he believed that whatever affected Kitt, also affected  
him. He came out of his thoughts, realizing that his partner had fallen  
silent. "How about we discuss this on the road?"  
  
They returned to the estate not too long after. The automatic garage  
door slid open to welcome them home. Michael shut off the engine and  
reached for the door handle, but something stopped him and he withdrew  
his hand, instead going for the seat adjuster and tipping the seat into  
a reclining position. He lay back and gently put his feet up the dash,  
making sure he was no where near the perceptor. It had been a long time  
since he had slept in the car; maybe too long. Maybe tonight, Kitt  
needed the company. He knew he had been right when the only thing his  
partner asked was, "Are you sure you're going to be comfortable there?"  
"I'm sure, buddy."  
  
Kitt waited until Michael's breathing evened out, and then shut down  
the majority of his higher functions. But he did not 'sleep'. Instead  
he listened to Michael breathing, felt the warm body in the seat, and  
gently held the snoring form entrusted to his care so completely.  
  
**  
  
William Clay was a patient man. He planned everything he did to the  
smallest detail to ensure no mistakes were ever made. He stared at the  
email with concerned eyes. It was simple and to the point.  
'KITT back on line - external access still remains locked. You failed,  
the freak is still alive. A.'  
  
**  
  
If there was one thing Bonnie loved about living on the  
Nevada/California border, it was the amazing winters. She awoke to a  
wonderfully sunny, warm December morning. After showing and fixing  
herself a coffee, she headed out for the garage and the lab. Her path  
through the house took her passed Devon's office, through the closed  
door of which she could plainly hear him shouting at someone or other  
over the phone. She mused on how quickly life managed returned to  
normal after a crisis.  
  
Ella woke to the same sunshine, only moments later, but slightly  
slower. She hated the winters on the West Coast. She was a lover of  
snow. It was why she accepted so many invites to spend her weekends on  
the ski-slopes, even if the majority of the people who invited her  
believed they were assisting in finding her a husband. She smiled at  
the thought, if only they could meet Kitt. And that image launched her  
out of bed and into the shower.  
  
Ella too was treated to a sample of Devon's temper as she walked out  
towards the garage. She found Bonnie leaning in the doorway and strode  
up to join her. "Are you okay?"  
"Yes. Just look at them."  
Ella looked over at Kitt and saw Michael curled on his side in the  
reclined driver's seat. She smiled. "Does he often sleep in the car?"  
"Only when they're on the road usually. I know he always prefers  
sleeping inside the car to using motels."  
Ella was curious. "Where does he live?"  
"Here. He has his own suite, as do quite a few of us." Bonnie started  
into the garage, heading for the lab at the back. "If you don't have  
any plans," she called back, "I could really use a hand."  
"Sure."  
  
They worked around the car, leaving Kitt resting and Michael oblivious  
to the morning, surrounded by the soundproof environment his car  
provided.  
  
Ella busied herself recovering as many of the disks of possible onto  
the new hardware. Bonnie was clearing out some of the wreckage, finding  
junk she thought had been thrown out years ago. There was a quiet  
squeal of delight as she came out of a box with something in her hand,  
and walked over to where Ella was sitting cross-legged up on a  
workbench, keyboard in her lap. "This was the box Kitt used to reside  
in, before we realized we needed more space for the CPU." She placed  
the dull piece of hardware into Ella's waiting hands.  
"It's a lot smaller than the casing he's in now."  
Bonnie nodded. "We didn't use this one for long, about a year after he  
was... partnered with Michael, we had to make a lot of changes to the  
way the CPU interacted with the car itself."  
"Why?" Ella found herself wanting to know more and more about Kitt's  
history and background.  
"A woman named Adrienne Margeaux, and a young computer genius, hacked  
into the controls through an unsecured communications channel. They  
gained access to the operation of the car and ripped the CPU out.  
Michael found it in a trash can." Bonnie saw the anger clear in Ella's  
eyes as she turned the box over in her fingers. "We put it into a  
portable TV set, to simply make Kitt portable, but he really had a hard  
time accepting the situation and adjusting to it. I know Michael did  
the best he could; I think he and Kitt had some deep heart-to-hearts  
while they worked to get the car back. But Kitt's relief when he was  
finally home was palpable. We enabled some remote access channels from  
the CPU to the car, and then closed access to the operations of the  
Knight 2000 so that all outside communications went through Kitt  
himself. If it ever happens again, which it shouldn't, at least Kitt  
will be able to override any other computer attempting to gain access.  
And if the worst comes to the worst, he will have remote control over  
the car."  
Ella frowned. "Wasn't it a bit of an oversight at the start?"  
Bonnie nodded. "There was a lot we overlooked at the start." She took  
the hardware back and threw it in the rubbish bag near to where she was  
clearing. "History." She announced. "We all have to learn the hard  
way sometimes."  
"Do you have a lot of trouble with hackers?"  
Bonnie nodded. "We used to... have our moments. There's no way in  
now, everything's more secure, there are no open comm. ports, and most  
of the communications are now done through satellite links. But  
Adrienne did manage to put the entire project at risk. Then there was  
Synasis."  
"Excuse me?"  
"An infamous hacker who actually specialized in military computer  
break-ins and planting viruses. It was just one night, he only hacked  
in once. But we certainly knew about it."  
  
(Michael woke suddenly. There was something wrong... an alarm going  
off somewhere... then he realized it was coming from his own comlink.  
It was beeping incessantly. He depressed the 'talk' button and spoke  
into it, but there was no reply, just the continuous sound. Finally he  
got out of bed and flung on some clothes, tiredly padding downstairs and  
across the hall, into the large kitchen and outside towards the garage.  
As he neared the door he started to hear screaming, a sound unlike any  
he had ever heard, metallic shrieks of utter terror emanating from  
inside the garage.  
  
"Kitt?!" He broke into a run, fingers reaching for the door handle  
before he was really close enough, pushing it open with a desperate  
urgency. The noise was almost unbearable once inside, but Michael  
hardly noticed his ears start to ring. He sprinted across the cold  
floor to where the black form of the Knight 2000 was sitting, moving,  
shifting in and out of drive. Kitt's cries were heart breaking to hear.  
  
"Kitt! Kitt, it's okay, it's okay, it's me. Come on, it's all  
right." His voice hardly sounded above the terrible screaming, but  
somehow he knew it was all he needed to get his partner's attention, or  
at least to let Kitt know he was here. He reached the passenger side  
and slipped his fingers under the handle, praying that whatever was  
wrong, the fingerprint scanner was still operational. The door clicked  
open, and Michael leapt inside, pulling it closed behind him as he  
clambered across into the driver's seat and placed his hands on the  
wheel.  
  
"Kitt, ssh now, it's all right, I'm here." He stroked his palm across  
the top of the dash as the hysteria calmed slightly. "I'm here now,  
it's gonna be okay, just calm down, it's okay...." He continued to  
talk, soothing as best he could until the cries were merely whimpers.  
The echoes of those terrible screams still hung in the quiet of the  
garage. "Tell me what's wrong."  
  
There was no reply, but the screens on the dashboard came alive  
suddenly with lines and lines of data that were scrolling past too  
quickly for him to catch a single character. "Kitt, slow down, slow  
down, that's right.... That's it...." His hands still stroked the wheel  
and the dash, as he tried to read the text. Something was terribly  
wrong and not for the first time he cursed his own lack of knowledge  
about the intricacies of the computer that he had grown to love. He had  
to get Bonnie.  
  
"Kitt, I need to go get Bonnie, I'm going to leave you for a minute,  
but I promise I'll be back as quickly as I can. Do you understand?"  
Almost immediately the whimpers returned to cries, panicked phrases this  
time, some of which Michael could start to pick up. The one he heard  
most often was 'dying'. Just as he was trying to talk Kitt down again,  
the passenger door opened and Bonnie's face appeared. There was no  
confusion in her expression.  
"It's a hacker," she told him quickly, "I'm going to do everything I  
can, keep him calm and try to stop him moving."  
  
It seemed like an eternity before his partner quieted. Slowly, his  
mutterings began to make sense, and Michael heard his own name, pleas  
for him to stop the confusion, the overload that was starting to knock  
out Kitt's functions one by one. Michael continued to talk to him as  
Bonnie started to hook up monitors and computers into the Knight 2000  
CPU. She started a system-wide backup before beginning the hunt for the  
cause of Kitt's hysteria. A virus. A simple virus had been planted  
somehow in his main memory, and somehow he had managed to execute it.  
  
She slowed, and eventually stopped it, removing any trace before  
recovering the functions he had lost. When she finished, she quietly  
moved around to the cockpit, and leaned down. Michael was sitting on  
the edge of the driver's seat, legs curled under him, leant in against  
the dash, arms linked around the steering wheel, as close to Kitt as he  
could get. His head was down, against the edge of the dashboard, and he  
was talking, still soothing as Kitt began to return to them. Michael  
opened his eyes and mouthed 'thank you'. She blew them both a kiss and  
left them alone for a while, heading for the house to make some coffee  
and find Devon.  
  
There was a long silence between the two partners as Kitt searched to  
find equilibrium. Finally he spoke, his voice sounding shaken and  
distressed. "I'm sorry."  
"Hey, there's nothing for you to apologize for. It was a virus, it  
could have been planted there at any time, and it's not your fault. You  
just concentrate on bringing everything back in line. I'm here now, I'm  
not gonna let anything else happen to you."  
"I was so scared... I thought it was going to wipe everything, I didn't  
think I'd make it, it was so sudden. I'm sorry, the comlink was the  
only way to get to you."  
"It's okay. That's what it's there for, for when we need one another.  
It works both ways Kitt." Michael closed his eyes and dropped his head  
back down to the dash, willing his heart rate to calm. "It's over now,  
it's all over.")  
  
Ella watched Bonnie return to her pile of memories, and glanced behind  
her, to where Michael was starting to wake within the car. She had lain  
awake all night, thinking about what Devon had told her about Alice,  
gazing inwards at her feelings and trying to rationalize everything.  
  
"Bonnie?"  
Dark hair shifted in amongst the boxes. "Umm?"  
"What happens to Kitt if anything... happens to Michael?"  
The dark hair lifted and Bonnie stood up, one foot on the ground, one  
in a box. "Well, at the start Kitt would have been reassigned, if a  
suitable replacement could have been found."  
"And now?"  
"Now... I really don't know. We always just planned to deal with  
whatever happens. Kitt did ask us one day, whether he would be kept  
operational indefinitely. We asked him what he wanted to do about it,  
and he told us that he didn't want to be immortal. He now has the  
ability to shutdown the systems permanently, and blow the main CPU."  
"You mean he would... commit suicide?" Ella was shocked.  
"I know how it sounds, but Kitt's specially configured to Michael, and  
only Michael. He would never work happily with anyone else. He can  
try; it's totally up to him. But I don't think he would."  
Ella sighed. "What if Michael... retired, or gave up the job?"  
"Kitt would go with him. I know he says that he would stay here, but  
in reality we wouldn't make him stay, even if we tried to he would  
eventually go to Michael. There's no point in trying to make Kitt do  
something he doesn't want to do."  
"But I thought he was Foundation owned."  
"He is, sort of. The car is, but Kitt.... He's grown beyond us owning  
him. It doesn't really apply anymore." Ella nodded in understanding.  
Catching her expression, Bonnie frowned, concerned. "Are you okay?"  
"I'm fine, Bonnie. I'm just... thinking."  
  
**  
  
Detective Jack Carlson, state police department, dropped the report  
onto Devon's desk, looking exceptionally glad that someone else was  
going to be taking responsibility for this case. "They pulled a body  
out of a burnt out building last night." He announced the find as a  
statement of fact, with maybe more than a mere professional lack of  
emotion.  
Devon frowned, sitting back in his chair and staring aimlessly at the  
papers. He had not slept at all well, and they were not ready to take  
on another case at the moment. "They are always pulling bodies from  
burnt buildings, Mr. Carlson."  
"Yes, but this body belonged to Greg Fulman, a man quite well known for  
spending a great deal of his time stealing military weapons and  
ammunition, and selling it for profit." That piqued Devon's curiosity.  
"And he also used to be a known... business associate of one William  
Clay, whose finger-prints, I believe, were found in the devastation out  
there in your lab."  
Devon sat up, and reached for the report, pulling it around and opening  
the manila folder only to cringe at the too-detailed forensic  
photographs inside. "How did you know what they attacked the car with?"  
  
Carlson smiled. "Mr. Miles, we've had Michael and Kitt around here for  
a long time, and I've seen that car in action more than once. Nothing  
civilian could touch it. It wasn't a huge leap of the imagination."  
"And I suppose that you're suggesting that we look into this matter?"  
"We are exceptionally busy this time of year. And I know you guys here  
like to look after your own."  
Devon rolled his eyes. "Thank you for the information, Detective.  
We'll look into it."  
He watched Carlson nod, turn and leave, before his gaze dropped to the  
folder before him. Part of him wanted to send Michael and Kitt out now  
to find Clay. But his conversation with Ella was fresh in his mind.  
She was a spirited girl, with more than slight feelings for Kitt, he  
dreaded to think what she would say if he took that course of action.  
So he opened the top drawer of his desk and placed the folder inside,  
closing it gently. The time would come soon enough.  
  
**  
  
After Michael had unfolded himself from Kitt's cockpit, he decided that  
a shower was definitely in order. Unfortunately, he then wondered into  
the kitchen at the wrong time, and found a griddle pan thrust into his  
hand. "Waffles." Ella pointed to the large bowl of mixture on the  
work-top and grinned at him. "Thank you."  
"Sure, no problem." He found a spatula in a drawer and lit the stove.  
"Ella, could I talk to you?"  
"Yes. What about?" She reached over and picked up the knife from the  
work-bench.  
"About Kitt."  
She started to gather together plates and cutlery. She looked at  
Michael, who seemed preoccupied. "Is he okay?"  
"Yeah. It's just... I was wondering how this must all seem to you, as  
an outsider. I mean, I've worked with Kitt for seven years now, he's a  
natural part of my life. And although other people sometimes do make me  
think that perhaps it's all a little weird, I couldn't imagine living  
any other way; but I often wonder how it looks to others."  
Ella mentally counted the number of plates she was going to need. "Are  
you talking about what you lot do here, or about your relationship with  
Kitt?"  
"What we do here is absolutely insane! But it saves lives, and it  
keeps me in a job. But Kitt and I...."  
Ella looked over at the waffles. "You and Kitt have a fantastic  
partnership. There's a bond between the two of you. You can see it in  
the photos around here."  
Michael smiled. "That's because Bonnie loves photographing Kitt. She  
keeps a family album."  
"But they're beautiful, they're not just photos of a man with his car,  
they're of two close friends. That one in Devon's office, the one of  
you sitting on the path out front?" Michael nodded, smiling at the  
memory. "That just says it all. To an outsider, it looks like you have  
the best of both worlds."  
"Kitt and I have history, as he once put it."  
"I know." She watched for a little while longer until she was  
convinced that Michael was going to let her brunch burn. Then she took  
over, stepping in to save her waffles from a terrible fate. "Look,  
Michael, I'm still trying to get used to all this. I don't even know  
why I'm still here, but Devon seems to want me to stay."  
"You're quite welcome here, Ella." He grabbed a plate and pinched one  
of the cooked waffles. He put on his best English accent. "And you do  
an excellent brunch."  
"I'm not sure that's a quality Kitt would appreciate." Ella had spoken  
really to herself, but it made Michael raise an eyebrow. "Okay. Let's  
get some food out to the workers around here."  
She winked at Michael and he sighed. Kitt was definitely rubbing off  
on her.  
  
**  
  
While Michael was assisting Ella, and Bonnie was on a definite coffee  
break with the morning paper, Pete Allington, one of Knight Industries'  
technicians, strode happily into the garage in search of tools. "Hey,  
Kitt."  
"Good morning, Pete. You're very cheerful today."  
"Yeah, well, I had a great night last night, and I'm feeling happy."  
"I'm glad to hear it." Pete found the screwdrivers he needed in the  
small area of the lab that had been sorted. He whistled as he turned  
back to the car. "Would you like to tell me why you're so happy?"  
"Sure, Kitt." Pete's grin got larger and he leaned back against the  
workbench, as natural with the car as he was with his human friends. "I  
met someone last night."  
"That's great Pete. What's her name?"  
Pete chuckled. "It's a 'he', Kitt. His name is Joey."  
"He?" Kitt tried to keep the confusion out of his voice simply because  
he felt he had to, but he failed miserably and Pete heard it. He stood,  
and moved over to sit on the hood of the car.  
"I'm gay, Kitt. I'm sorry, I thought you knew."  
"Gay...." There was a pause as Kitt found the alternative definition  
of the word he had, all his life, thought meant 'happy'. "I see.  
Interesting."  
The total absence of any sort of judgement in Kitt's accepting tone  
made Pete smile. "I take it I'm the first gay man you've met."  
"I don't know. It is quite possible."  
"Well, it's nice to know that I can expand your horizons."  
"I take it Joey is also gay."  
Pete could not help laugh at that one. "I certainly hope so, Kitt, or  
he would have had a nasty shock when he woke up this morning."  
"Are you in love with him?"  
Pete frowned. "It's a bit early to tell. I definitely find him damn  
sexy though, and I think at least that feeling is mutual."  
  
Bonnie walked into the garage at the right time to catch the last few  
words, and she shook her head. Great. This was going to take some  
explaining. She put her shoulder against the door-frame, peering around  
the corner at the technician perched on Kitt's hood, talking to her car  
like he was talking to a colleague.  
  
"Don't tell me you've never been in love, Kitt." Pete was saying.  
"You're an eligible bachelor."  
Bonnie waited to hear Kitt's reply, her mind already trying to pre-empt  
the multitude of questions that were going to follow this friendly  
conversation.  
"Would you go for someone like me, Pete?"  
  
Bonnie could not believe what she had just heard, and from Pete's  
stunned silence, neither could he. Miraculously he recovered first and  
smiled.  
"Sure, Kitt." He stood, walking along the side of the car and running  
his finger tips playfully over the body-work. "Who wouldn't? You're  
intelligent, got a great sense of humour, you're sleek, good-looking,  
and deliciously hard." He slapped his hand on the back of the rear wing  
as he passed. "Just how I like my men."  
  
Bonnie heard Pete's whistle fade as he headed for the research workshop  
on the other side of the estate. Silence dropped over the garage as she  
wondered how to deal with this one. She knew that Kitt would know she  
was there. But as she took a deep breath and walked confidently inside,  
he said nothing. As the minutes passed, she started to relax. And then  
she realized that she was not the one that Kitt was going to want to  
talk to about this; Michael was. An evil smile crossed her face. She  
turned from the system monitors on the workbench. "Kitt, could you run  
a second-phase diagnostic on your communications ports?"  
"Of course, Bonnie."  
Kitt immediately initialized the routines and lapsed back into silence,  
making Bonnie feel more secure and confident every second. Finally she  
gathered enough courage to prod a little. "You and Pete seem to get on  
quite well."  
Kitt's answer was natural and relaxed. "I've known him a long time.  
His work is always of an excellent standard. I consider him a friend."  
Nothing. No hint of the conversation that had passed only five minutes  
earlier.  
  
Finally she relaxed. "Could you pop the hood?"  
The hood release clicked and it rose steadily. Bonnie picked up the  
scanner and started her diagnostic examination, checking each perceptor  
in turn. She tried to be careful, as she always tried to be. But she  
knew that sometimes, if she was rushed, or tired, or something had  
angered her, she was less than gentle with these examinations. She knew  
that just one slip caused Kitt a tremendous amount of discomfort, and  
anything harder could cause him pain. He never complained, never said  
anything, but she knew; she could tell if he caught himself from saying  
something, or just stopped short of pulling away.  
  
After a little while, Bonnie dropped the hood back. "Is everything  
feeling right?"  
"Yes, thank you, Bonnie."  
She pulled in a deep breath. "Look, Kitt, you can say if I hurt you.  
You can tell me if you think I'm being too rough with you. We all get  
tired, and I don't ever want you to think that it's okay for me to take  
it out on you, because it isn't. You put up with more than any of us,  
and...."  
"Bonnie," Kitt's interruption was quiet, but it cut through her  
self-destruction. She stopped talking and looked down. "You weren't to  
blame for what happened."  
Bonnie sat down hard on Kitt's hood, placing her palm flat on the  
body-work. Finally the words came tumbling out. "I failed you, I know  
I did, I wasn't fast enough to react at the beginning.... If it hadn't  
been for Ella...."  
"She told me herself that I owe my life to you and Michael, you were  
the ones that ensured the recovery could take place. It was a stressful  
time for you, but you saved my life, and Michael sacrificed his own  
well-being to get me safely to the estate in Canada. You have never  
failed me, Bonnie."  
She took a deep breath, biting her lip. She knew that there had been a  
great many heart-to-hearts recently, especially with Kitt. Touching  
base, reminding each other that they were here for each other, that it  
was okay to be vulnerable once in a while.  
  
Kitt waited one more moment before changing the subject. "Bonnie, do  
you have any idea who set Michael and I up?"  
"I'm sorry, Kitt, with you and Michael out of action, all we really  
have is what we had before; William Clay's finger prints in the  
devastation of the lab, and now this associate of his who's turned up  
dead. But we still don't know if he had help from inside the  
Foundation, or even why he would do it."  
"Help from inside?"  
Bonnie could hear the sadness in Kitt's tone. "I know, Kitt."  
"I don't understand what makes a person betray his friends."  
Bonnie gently rubbed the smooth paint-work beneath her palm. "You're  
thinking about Avril, aren't you?" Kitt did not respond. "Sometimes we  
trust people and they betray that trust. Money is a very powerful  
persuader."  
"I thought Avril was my friend."  
"We all trusted her, or she would never have been allowed near you.  
She fooled us all." She let her fingers rest against the scanner  
track. "I know she hurt you."  
"I still have the memories of what she made me do."  
Bonnie grimaced. "Why didn't you wipe it?"  
"I wanted to remember."  
"Why?"  
"Because afterwards, Michael told me that people learn from bad  
experiences, that they help to shape a person's character. I thought I  
could learn from what happened."  
"I don't think Michael would have wanted you to keep those memories if  
he'd known how much they hurt you." She pulled her legs up, shifting  
until she was more comfortable on the long hood. "The betrayal of  
trust is a difficult lesson to learn."  
"It wasn't my first class."  
  
Kitt's softly spoken words jolted her. Avril had been in their third  
year, only Kitt's unique memory had prevented the incident from slipping  
into history. "Kitt?"  
"Did Michael ever tell you that he lost me in a race one night?"  
Bonnie knew instantly where this was going. "Yes." She too had been  
furious at Michael's behaviour that particular night, despite his sound  
motives. "I tracked your homing signal so we could find you and the car  
that killed that girl."  
"He turned off my systems, without any explanation or warning. I  
didn't know what was happening, or what was going to happen to me.  
Suddenly he was handing me over to a stranger, switching off my  
connection with the outside world. I was... frightened. And hurt."  
His explanation hammered home to her the ease with which they could  
effect Kitt's development. Nothing that happened to him was forgotten.  
"It was a long time ago." She tried to reassure him. "Michael can't do  
that now, and he wouldn't. You know he wouldn't. It just took some  
time for him to... to place you in his life. Believe me, you're at the  
top of his priorities now." Bonnie took a deep breath. "He would die  
for you."  
"I'm a computer, Bonnie. Even Michael knows that deep inside. He  
couldn't sacrifice his own life for a computer."  
"You're his friend and his partner, and if it came down to it, he would  
do it."  
  
Kitt had no answer for that, no argument. It was beginning to get  
slightly overwhelming, and he needed time to process everything. Bonnie  
seemed to sense that. She slipped off the hood. "If you want to talk  
some more I'm here for you anytime."  
"Bonnie, before you go... Michael and I can go back on the road  
whenever Devon needs us to. I don't want to think that I'm the reason  
we're not going after whoever did this."  
She looked at him, hand on hip. "Are you ready to go back out?"  
"Michael once told me that if you fall off a horse, you should get  
straight back on. Unless you're injured of course."  
That made her laugh. "Are you sure those were his exact words?"  
"Well, I had to add my own interpretation."  
She smiled. "Kitt, we're not going to send you back out until we've at  
least had you on the test track. I want to make sure you make a  
complete recovery."  
"Thank you Bonnie."  
  
**  
  
Having eaten as much as he thought he could get away with, and made his  
way through several mugs of coffee, Michael had announced to the world  
in general that he felt good enough to take on anything anyone could  
throw at him. That was when Bonnie had suggested he go talk to his  
partner. She did not say anymore, but Michael had caught her knowing  
smile, and evil wink at Ella. He was suspicious as he walked into the  
garage.  
  
"Kitt, Bonnie said you wanted to talk to me."  
"Yes, Michael, if you have a minute."  
Kitt popped the driver's side door, and Michael slipped into the low  
seat. "Sure, Pal, what's up?" It was taking some time to get used to  
the new position of the voice box, aside of the steering wheel, as  
opposed to behind it. A slight change, the reason for which Michael had  
not yet discovered.  
"It's a little awkward...." Kitt began hesitantly.  
"This is me, Kitt. We've never had problems discussing anything  
before."  
"Well... you're obviously attracted to women and they always seem  
attracted to you...."  
Michael grinned. "God, Kitt, you are so good for my ego."  
"Please."  
"Sorry. Go on."  
"I was talking to Pete earlier on."  
"Pete?" Michael had to think for a moment, "Oh Pete, the technician.  
And...."  
"And he told me that he... was attracted to men."  
"Yeah, he's gay. Everyone knows that." He stopped, letting his gaze  
settled on the darkened voice panel. "I take it, you didn't know."  
"No."  
"Oh. I'm sorry.... I guess it never came up before." Michael  
suddenly felt slightly uncomfortable. He cursed Bonnie. Then he cursed  
himself, Kitt would know he was nervous simply by the way his body  
stiffened.  
"You're not at ease with this subject." His partner told him, almost  
uncertainly.  
"I know, and I should be, so talk to me. What do you want to know?"  
"How do you know if you supposed to be attracted to men or to women?"  
Michael smiled. "Well, Kitt, you just know."  
"I don't!"  
  
Michael scratched the side of his head, confusion painted on his face.  
"I always thought you'd be attracted to... I don't know, Ferraris maybe,  
or Pentium processors." There was no comeback to that, and Michael knew  
immediately that he had said the wrong thing. "Kitt, you usually know  
how you feel, about various issues, about people; your friends and your  
enemies. You like and dislike people the same as the rest of us. I  
imagine that you would know if you found someone attractive, it doesn't  
matter what sex they are."  
"Would it change your feelings towards me?"  
Michael was about to tell him that of course it would not. But he  
found that it was not how he felt. He and Kitt shared almost  
everything; there were absolutely no secrets between them. There really  
was not any room for hang-ups when you lived and worked side-by-side  
with someone so closely. Would it change his opinion if Kitt... were  
attracted to him? "I don't know, Kitt." Michael answered finally.  
"Thank you." There was warmth in that voice and Michael could not  
figure why.  
"For what?"  
"For being honest with me. It will probably relax you to know that...  
that I believe I am attracted to women."  
It did relax him, although he was almost ashamed to admit it. "Haven't  
got the hots for me then?" He asked jokingly.  
"You?! Absolutely not, I know what you're like in the morning."  
"Well thank you." Michael sat back in mock indignation. Then he  
smiled. But something was starting to nag him, at the back of his  
mind. "You really like her, don't you?"  
"Yes."  
"I'm not sure what I should say at this juncture. I feel that I should  
be giving you advice, explaining about the birds and the bees or  
something."  
"You could just try to take me seriously."  
"Sorry Kitt, it's just... unexpected, that's all."  
"I know what you're thinking, that I'm just a computer and I have no  
right to... be attracted to a human being...."  
Michael raised his hand. "Hey, stop that. I didn't say that, and I  
wasn't thinking it. You're as human as anybody I've ever met, more in  
some cases. But I've known you seven years and in all that time I've  
never known you get like this before."  
"In those seven years I've never met anyone like Ella before. The  
women we meet always seemed attracted to you. It's the first time  
anyone has shown any interest in me."  
Michael sat back. "Well people do tend to respond to you differently  
because you are... what you are."  
"I know, but Ella's different. In the beginning she only saw a  
collection of PCBs and wires, yet she still cared. She sat and... held  
my hand. Michael no one has ever done that before, no one has ever  
tried to give me any physical contact before."  
"I'm sorry, Kitt. I didn't realize...."  
"I didn't mean that you should have. It's just that it wasn't  
something that had entered my mind, but it was the first thing she  
thought of and she didn't know me."  
"So how do you feel about her?"  
"I'm not sure. I'm quite confused. I enjoy her company, I like  
talking to her, I trust her. She makes me feel... special. Not to say  
that you don't, but...."  
Michael smiled. "It's okay Kitt, I know. I'm just not sure what to  
say."  
"I'm not expecting you to say anything, I just wanted to make you...  
aware."  
"Okay. Why?"  
"Because I can't see a happy ending to this."  
  
**  
  
Ella sat in the back of the Semi, legs dangling over the side. Out on  
the test track, Kitt went through his paces, monitored closely by  
Bonnie, along with an army of proud technicians, and Michael, who was  
shouting encouragement to his partner. Kitt missed all the cones,  
touched all the markers, and hit the test wall with enough speed to  
shatter every brick. Eyebrows were raised as he went beyond the test to  
turbo boost over the Semi, and Bonnie's eyes and smile went to Ella's  
face. He was showing off for one person only.  
  
Kitt was not sure why he had gone over the Semi, but he felt so good,  
and he had everyone's attention. He had been scared to go back out at  
first. But talking with Bonnie, knowing that he and Michael were needed  
in the field right now, to find out who attacked them before they tried  
again, had fired his determination. He could see and hear Michael at  
the side of the track, pride written all over his face and shining in  
his voice. For the first time Kitt was completely and absolutely sure  
of Michael's feelings for him. He was not alone, he never would be.  
And he knew for certain now that he was never going to be traded in for  
a new model. That knowledge certainty was invigorating.  
  
Throughout the drive, Kitt had been all too aware of Ella sitting in  
the mobile unit, watching him as closely as the rest of them were. She  
fascinated him as much as he believed he fascinated her. She was one of  
the most skilled software developers Kitt had ever met. But she showed  
a great deal of compassion for her work; at least in her work with him.  
He wondered if she had any background in psychology, in fact he had  
found himself wondering about her background more and more. She seemed  
very happy to stay around the estate, and while he understood that her  
employer owed her an awful lot of vacation time, he did not understand  
why she did not have people who would be missing her.  
  
He ran the test course with only the minimum processes dedicated to  
driving the car. The course was 'a piece of cake', as Michael often put  
it. He had driven it enough times to have it stored detail by detail in  
memory; although someone had obviously thought that moving some of the  
cones would throw him. No. Moving the track would not have thrown  
him. And so he was able to think about the last few days, as he  
impressed his colleagues.  
  
The attack had been one of the most frightening moments of his life.  
The long hours afterwards had been like a nightmare, hearing snippets of  
words, people trying to talk to him, while his own desperate attempts to  
respond had been in vain. He had been aware of the perceptors being  
removed and the casing being lifted from the car. The sensations could  
only have been described as nauseous. After that he had known only that  
he was being taken somewhere, and that Michael was with him. But he had  
only been able to comprehend his driver's comforting tone; none of the  
words.  
  
When Bonnie had switched him back on, everything had happened so  
suddenly. As his CPU had come back on line, memories had cascaded  
through, showing him not only that Alice's images were back with him,  
but replaying the attack for him, unstoppably, in its entirety. He had  
had to do something, or they would have sent him back out when he was  
obviously incapable of protecting Michael. He had been scared, anxious  
about his future, worried that he had hurt Michael. Everything had been  
turned upside down.  
  
And then Ella had arrived. And slowly everything had started to fall  
back into place. She had known him a matter of hours, and yet  
everything she had said to him made perfect sense. She had affected him  
in ways he had not previously experienced. There was something new in  
his circuits. He felt like there was a heat flowing through him that  
had not been there before. It was a strange excitement that took hold  
of him whenever she was around, an uncontrollable effect on him that he  
seemed helpless to stop even if he had actually wanted to. But the  
sensation was addictive.  
  
Kitt brought the car round and stopped by the crowd of technicians.  
Michael joined them, proudly seating himself on the door where the  
driver's side window was wound down, his arms resting on the top of the  
car. "You were stunning, Kitt," he told his partner quietly.  
"Thank you, Michael."  
There was a great deal of activity, technicians slapping each other on  
the backs, Bonnie congratulating Kitt, Devon doing the same. But  
Michael could sense that his friend was taking no notice whatsoever of  
anyone around him. After a short while, he dropped down from the door  
and leant inside. "Why don't you go talk to her?"  
"I might just do that."  
  
Very carefully, Kitt backed up, and a space cleared for him to turn.  
Ella was still sitting in the back of the Semi, watching Kitt as  
intensely as he was watching her. Michael shook his head as he gazed  
over at them. He kept remembering what Kitt had said about not being  
able to see a happy ending. Yet still his partner was continuing on the  
same path. That really could only mean one thing, and frankly Michael  
was not that surprised.  
  
"So," Ella started as Kitt drew up to her, "have you lost your fear of  
flying?"  
There was a smile in Kitt's voice. "Yes. This new body feels  
fantastic and I feel completely confident of my abilities. Thanks to  
you."  
"I didn't do anything."  
"You believed in me when I no longer believed in myself."  
"You're easy to believe in." She kicked off her shoes and put her feet  
up on Kitt's hood. The body-work was still fairly hot from the engine  
use. "Does this mean you and Michael are ready to hit the road again?"  
Kitt analyzed her tone. "You sound worried."  
"Is it all right to worry about you?"  
"I think so. Bonnie always does. But we have to find whoever attacked  
us, and find out why."  
Ella nodded. "You just have to promise me that you'll be careful."  
  
"It's my job, Ella. It's what I was built for. The attack was... a  
one off. We'll be on our guard, please don't worry." He hesitated  
before asking, "Are you staying around?"  
His enquiry prompted a wry smile. "Is that a hopeful question?"  
Kitt stammered, taken aback by Ella's forwardness. He searched for an  
answer, but she saved him.  
"Sorry." She nodded. "It looks like I may be here for a little while  
yet."  
"I am glad to hear it."  
Ella softened. "Kitt, it really is great to see you take that track  
on. It seems only yesterday that I had you on my knee."  
"Ella," Kitt chided, "you make me sound like a child."  
"I didn't mean to, it's just difficult to equate you now with the Kitt  
I held back in that garage."  
"I'm the same computer. I remember you holding me, and I remember what  
you did for me. But this is my usual state; this is what I am. Do I...  
repulse you?"  
Ella sat forward, "Are you kidding?! Kitt, you're beautiful. You've  
just got to give me some time to get use to all this." She smiled. "I  
will say, your shape is very sexy."  
  
Kitt tried to find an answer to that one, but he could not. He found  
his programming totally inadequate, so he looked back into his memory,  
to find examples of Michael's actions in this area. But when he came  
across some, he found himself not wanting to follow Michael's example.  
Michael met and interacted with a great many women, Ella was special,  
she deserved better. "Thank you," was all he eventually managed. "Do  
you think you ever will get used to... all this?"  
"I think I might." Humour played in her voice. "You have a wonderful  
family, they've made me feel very welcome."  
  
Michael approached quietly. "Sorry to interrupt, Pal, but they want to  
download all the test results. We need you."  
Kitt popped open the driver's side door and happily, Michael got in,  
smiling up at Ella. "I won't be long," Kitt told her, apologetically.  
"I'll be here." She meant it; she was not going anywhere. She had not  
taken her eyes off Kitt through the entire test run; there was no way  
she was going to do so now.  
  



	3. In Need of a White Christmas

Three - In Need of a White Christmas  
  
Fund-raisers.  
  
Michael hated them. But this time he felt, after everything Devon had  
done for Kitt and he over the past few days, that he owed it to his boss  
to at least put in an appearance. Bonnie loved them because they gave  
her what were usually her only chances to dress up, and this time she  
hoped to get a dance from her handsome prince. Ella had never been to  
anything like it. She and Bonnie spent the whole morning before in the  
city, finding her a dress, because however hard she tried, Ella could  
not squeeze in to Bonnie's size 12s.  
  
Bonnie and Ella shopped for three hours, ate lunch, and then started  
again. It had been a long time since either of them had enjoyed close  
female company. And as Ella told Bonnie, as they sat down in the most  
expensive restaurant they could find, she had forgotten how much fun  
shopping could be. After they had visited every dress shop in the town,  
Ella found the one she loved just after lunch. Bonnie bought a red ball  
gown in the same store, because she thought Michael might appreciate its  
low cut front and non-existent back. The assistant told them that  
Ella's full length dark blue ball gown, with a fitted bodice and full  
skirt, looked stunning on her. Bonnie told her that Kitt would love  
it. Ella merely smiled.  
  
This particular fund-raiser was an annual affair held by the  
Foundation. It was partly to raise money and partly to keep up the high  
profile of the Foundation's PR department, the group within the  
association that kept the public's eyes away from other projects.  
  
Early on in the evening, Michael and Bonnie pulled up with Kitt, the  
valet not even bothering to step forward to offer. Kitt pulled away  
from the curb and found himself a quiet area of the hotel parking lot.  
Devon accompanied Ella in a stretch Limo behind them. She could not  
keep the smile off her face, and her enjoyment was infectious. Devon  
escorted her from the car, and into the ballroom. Ella felt like a  
princess. She only wished her prince could be on her arm.  
  
The champagne flowed freely, and Ella watched Devon work the room like  
a master. She chatted to a few men, only barely noting their interest  
in her. Her thoughts were elsewhere. Her distraction was fairly  
obvious to a trained eye, and an hour or so into the evening, Bonnie  
cornered her. "You could have any man in the room." She whispered.  
Ella turned her head and smiled. "Charlie's nice, Dave is very good  
looking, and Jerez is an excellent dancer. But...."  
"But nothing special."  
"No." A passing waiter offered them champagne and both accepted. "You  
lot really know how to throw a party."  
"Thank you." Bonnie smiled knowingly. "I'm amazed we got Michael  
here. You wouldn't believe the excuses he and Kitt have come up with in  
the past to keep away from these evenings. I've no idea how he gets  
Kitt to cover for him either. I never taught him to lie."  
Ella grinned at her. "You sound like a worried mother."  
"I know."  
Ella spotted Michael looking bored as hell against the far wall. She  
nudged Bonnie. "I think you should go and talk to the father."  
  
The lights of the hotel spilled into the spacious parking lot behind.  
Ella spotted Kitt sitting away from the other cars, the lights playing  
on his perfect body. She approached him quietly, reaching out when she  
got close enough to touch him. "Hello, Ella."  
"Hi, Kitt." He opened the driver's door and she sat down, legs out of  
the car, settling back into the leather seat.  
"You look beautiful." Kitt's voice was quiet.  
"Funny, I was just thinking the same about you." There was a pause.  
From somewhere within the folds of her dress, Ella recovered a single  
menthol cigarette. "Do you mind?"  
"Of course not." Kitt heated the seldom-used lighter, and lit the  
indicating diode. Ella thanked him as she lit the cigarette and leaned  
her head back against the rest.  
"Aren't you enjoying the party?"  
"It's not that, Kitt. I just wanted to come out here and say hello.  
You must get so bored sitting in parking lots while Michael partys."  
"I am his car, it's what I was created for." Ella let out a deep  
breath; it seemed to be an argument she could not win. "To be truthful,  
this is one of the very few Foundation fund-raisers that we have  
attended."  
"Yeah, Bonnie mentioned that your excuses were becoming more  
imaginative each time."  
"Michael does not enjoy this type of social event."  
"I'm not really sure I blame him. Although I like the Limo treatment."  
  
"You like expensive cars?"  
Ella was about to say yes, when she stopped and thought about the  
question for a moment. "That's not what this is about Kitt," she told  
him gently.  
"Then what is it about?"  
  
Ella turned and let herself lie back across the seats. The material of  
her skirt fell neatly across the edge of the driver's seat, and for a  
moment the sensation distracted Kitt. She keyed open the sunroof and  
watched the thin curl of smoke reach up into the night sky. "This is  
about you." She answered him finally.  
Finally Kitt could sense a break in the strange tension between them.  
"How can this be about me? I'm a computer, Ella." There was a quiet,  
barely disguised desperation in his voice that pulled at Ella's heart,  
because she was feeling it too.  
"No, Kitt. If you were just a computer I wouldn't be feeling this  
way."  
"How do you feel?" She could hear the hope that laced that sensual  
voice.  
"The truth? I think I'm falling in love with you."  
"Ella...." Kitt hesitated. "I've never been in love, I honestly never  
believed I could feel that strength of emotion. But I've never been  
this confused before either. I'm afraid I'm not very good with strange  
feelings. I get comfortable with my environment and if something  
changes it I tend to be slow to accept that. Having said that, I've  
never felt like this before, for anyone. This is all new to me." He  
finished almost desperately, finding it difficult to say what he wanted  
to say, painfully aware that he was leaving himself open to ridicule.  
  
Ella dropped the finished cigarette to the ground and sat up, her eyes  
settling on the columned voice panel. "I really do care for you. I  
understand that you've seen a great many horrors, and been through many  
bad times as well as good. I know this latest attack wasn't the first.  
Bonnie's told me about Adrienne Margot, and about the incident with the  
industrial acid, about Michael losing his memory. You've been through  
so much, and you've come out of it, still with your gentle humanity  
intact." She smiled gently. "It's one of the things that's so  
attractive about you."  
"No one's ever said these things to me. I never imagined that anyone  
ever would."  
"But you need to hear them as much as any of us, don't you?" There was  
silence. "It's okay to need these things, Kitt. Like it's okay to need  
reassurance from Michael about your partnership and your future. It's  
very human...."  
Kitt felt the heat in his circuits increase. "I don't understand how  
you can possibly find me attractive. I'm a machine, a computer, you  
write software for things like me."  
Ella smiled. "You don't have any idea do you?"  
"About what?"  
"About the effect you have on women; your voice, your mannerisms, your  
charisma... your sensuality...." She smiled gently, "I'd be willing to  
bet that there have been a lot of women interested in you, but you just  
haven't noticed."  
"I very much doubt it, Ella."  
"Come on Kitt, you can turn on the charm as easily as Michael can."  
"That's just who I am... and possibly Michael's habits rubbing off on  
me." He felt Ella's fingers wrap around the steering wheel. "I'm just  
not sure that there's even one aspect of the human relationship that I  
could realistically participate in."  
  
Ella moved her fingers slowly up the side of the steering wheel, coming  
to rest at the top before dropping her palm softly down onto the  
perceptor. Instantly Kitt amplified the input coming from the device,  
feeling Ella's touch.  
"I like being with you, Kitt. I enjoy talking to you. You have a  
unique perspective. I've known a lot of men, and none of them match up  
to you."  
"Flattery will get you everywhere."  
Ella laughed. "One of Michael's phrases?"  
"No, actually." Kitt let the humour filter through his voice, at the  
same time revelling in the warmth of Ella's fingers playing on the  
perceptor, tracing slow patterns that were making it more and more  
difficult to concentrate on talking to her. "That's extremely  
distracting, Ella," he told her softly.  
Just as softly she replied, "It's supposed to be."  
  
A slow, hot silence fell between them. Ella realized that the  
temperature in the car had risen, but she knew it was just one more  
thing she would have to get used to interpreting. Kitt was never going  
to be able to express himself in the way a human would; she was going to  
have to learn to read his gestures. And to talk in his language.  
  
"Close your eyes, Kitt."  
The request surprised him. "Ella...?"  
"Trust me. Just let everything else go, just for a minute.  
Concentrate on my touch."  
Kitt took a virtual breath and started to pause all his other major  
functions; scanner, Michael's comlink input, internal sensors.  
Everything. Until all that was left were Ella's fingertips on the  
perceptor. A low, quiet hum escaped his voice box. "Ella...." The  
word was no more than a breath, yet it pierced her soul as she realized  
Kitt had trusted her enough to do as she had asked him.  
  
Never before had there been such little input that had taken so much  
processing. Kitt concentrated every bite on the perceptor data, reading  
only one lone signal for the first time in his short life. It was the  
most amazing thing he had ever felt, like gentle fire playing across his  
circuits. His entire CPU sang with Ella's touch, his whole being seemed  
to lock with her pulse, and beat in the same rhythm. It was the most  
intoxicating moment he had ever known. Somehow the energy had to be  
released, and Kitt let it go as waves across his voice modulator, hums  
of absolute contentment that swept through the silence in the car.  
  
"God, Kitt...." Ella closed her own eyes, wanting more than anything  
in the world to be able to kiss him. Just one of many sensations she  
was never going to feel. She kept her fingertips tracing those patterns  
that seemed so enticing to Kitt. He felt alive under her skin. Her  
mind otherwise blank, she let the soft sounds emanating from him play  
across her nerves, soothing and exciting at the same time. She could  
feel her body responding. This felt so natural she could almost believe  
that it would work between them.  
  
Slowly, Ella could sense the change, and she knew Kitt was trying,  
maybe struggling, to bring other functions back on line. Sighing  
softly, she sat forward and without thinking she placed her lips  
momentarily against the voice panel. She was aware of everything  
stopping. And for a moment she imagined his breath against hers. And  
then she pulled back, and ceased the movement of her fingers, although  
she held them steady over that sensitive area.  
  
She spoke quietly. "Kitt, are you okay?"  
"Ella... I'm speechless. I've never felt anything like that."  
"I wish I could do more...."  
"I'm not sure my circuits could cope with any more."  
Ella smiled, slowly leaning back in the seat. She looked up out of the  
windshield, to the hotel. The thought of going back to the party did  
not enthuse her. "I don't suppose there's any way we can get out of  
here?"  
"I'm sorry Ella." Kitt gauged her reaction. "This is going to be a  
problem, isn't it? One of many...."  
"Nothing that we can't work around Kitt, don't worry."  
  
Michael placed a kiss on Bonnie's cheek. "I'm outta here."  
She smiled knowingly. "I'm impressed you've stayed this long."  
"This party does have its attractions."  
"Not enough of them obviously."  
Michael's eyes danced. "You know what you do to me. I can't take it  
in this stuffy atmosphere."  
Bonnie closed the gap between them and touched her lips to his. The  
kiss lasted only a moment, before she whispered, "I'll see you later  
on." She thought he was going to skip out of the hotel.  
  
He exited the building gracefully, but did nearly brake into a run when  
he saw the driver's side door of his car hanging open. As he closed on  
Kitt, he quickly recognized Ella's dress spilling out, and snippets of  
conversation floated through the warm night air.  
"...do you really mean that?" His partner's voice, so full of  
gentleness and awe, that it stopped Michael in his tracks.  
"Yes, and I need you to believe me."  
"I don't know what to say..."  
Michael wondered whether he should intrude. He had gotten completely  
fed up with trying to make small talk with Devon's guests. Even the  
couple of dances he had managed to get with Bonnie were not making up  
for the fact he was in a dinner jacket, it was gorgeous outside, and the  
night was still young in some parts of town. He had wanted to take Kitt  
and hit the road, maybe find some deserted beach to race down, scare a  
few fish. Now though, he was not so sure that Kitt did not have plans  
of his own.  
  
Ella saw Michael watching them and leaned forward. "I better go."  
Kitt knew already what she was talking about, and for one, brief moment  
of utter confusion within his circuitry, he tried to figure out some way  
of asking her not to leave. But he could not.  
Somehow, Ella could sense his sudden distress. "I meant it, Kitt. If  
there's a way, we'll find it." She gently patted the dash. "I'll see  
you tomorrow."  
"Thank you for making this a truly memorable evening."  
"It was a pleasure."  
  
**  
  
Michael was content to listen to music for just over an hour, as he  
drove the car at exhilaratingly high speeds across the dark California  
highways. But as the final song on the album faded, he knew there was  
something wrong. Kitt had not spoken a word since they left the hotel,  
and the least he would have usually done would be to complain about the  
music. "Kitt?"  
"Yes."  
Michael smiled. "Well at least you're still there."  
"Of course."  
  
The computer lapsed back into silence, when his usual reaction would  
have been to find some conversation starter. Michael started to become  
concerned. He thought that they had sorted out any problems Kitt had.  
He knew that Ella had had a long talk with his partner, and she seemed  
to have solved the last of them. The moment he really thought about it,  
he knew what this was about. "So," he began, "you and Ella have an  
interesting chat tonight?"  
  
The voice panel remained darkened. Michael slowed his speed to  
something vaguely close to the limit; they were closing in on the  
beach. Soon, Michael stopped the car at the edge of the water, and got  
out. Not long ago he had finally gotten around to seeing the film  
'Waynes World', and the scene with the two of them lying on the hood of  
their car, watching the planes fly overhead, had captured his  
imagination. Kitt opened the windows and the sunroof as Michael made  
himself comfortable on the warm hood, head rested on his arms as he  
leant back against the windshield. He waited, wanting Kitt to talk to  
him of his own accord, having learnt a long time before that pressuring  
his partner was not always the best plan.  
  
So sure was he that Kitt was going to start talking, it surprised him  
when soft music started playing in the car. It was a quiet piece; a  
sultry, lone trumpet and a woman's voice. Nothing more. It was not  
anything like Michael had ever heard before, and it definitely was not  
Kitt's usual choice. Michael closed his eyes and listened to the music,  
letting his thoughts wonder to Bonnie, and to the way she had looked in  
that dress tonight.  
  
Kitt did not want to talk, and he did not want to think. He had found  
the music on one of the late night radio stations, and decided on that,  
rather than leaving Michael totally without an answer to his question.  
Kitt tried to let the music soothe him, attempted to let it settle into  
his circuitry as Ella's touch had so easily done. But he was finding it  
difficult to concentrate on anything but Ella. He was not sure whether  
what they had shared that night had meant anything to her, or whether  
they had actually shared anything at all. After all, there was no way  
he could ever return her gesture. But he knew beyond any doubt that it  
had meant something very particular to him. The first time. The first  
time a woman had touched him with anything other than natural action.  
The first time he had felt one sensation so intensely that it had  
blotted out anything else and left its echo burning in his memory.  
  
He had meant what he had said to Michael a few days before; that he  
could not see any way that this could end happily. But still he found  
he did not want to ask Ella to stop. The knowledge that he was going  
towards something that scared him was almost a paradox. And maybe for  
that reason it was not something he wished to think about. He  
registered Michael's weight on his hood, and found himself wishing that  
it was Ella he was feeling there. The revelation shocked him.  
"Michael?"  
Michael opened his eyes. "Yeah, Kitt."  
"I don't want to feel this way any longer."  
Michael strove to ensure his tone stayed neutral, trying to keep the  
parental edge out. "Why don't you talk to me?"  
"I... I was just thinking how good it would feel to have Ella lying  
there, instead of you."  
  
Kitt waited anxiously for Michael's hurt retort, but instead he heard a  
chuckle. "Well, Kitt, I guess that makes us even, because I was just  
imagining how good it would be to be lying here with Bonnie."  
"You're not upset?"  
That startled him. "Why should I be upset?"  
"I'm yours, Michael, I should be content with having _you_ here."  
Michael turned, shifting onto his side to gaze in through the  
windshield. "Kitt, you're not mine. I don't own you. Maybe... maybe  
the car's in my name, but you're your own person. And why should you be  
content with just having me around all the time?" His voice softened.  
"You've fallen in love, Pal. It's going to be some time before you  
manage to think about much else."  
Kitt processed Michael's words over again. "Ella told me tonight that  
she thought she was falling in love with me."  
  
It was Michael's turn for silence. He knew it was coming with Kitt,  
knew how his partner felt for the young programmer. But he really had  
not thought that Kitt's feelings would be reciprocated. He was an  
expert in recognizing that deep emotional feelings for the advanced  
computer were possible, and in his life they were commonplace. But Ella  
was a stranger to all this, she had not grown with Kitt as the rest of  
them had. She had met a complicated mix of wires and chips, and had  
fallen for him? He wondered why he was starting to feel angry at her,  
then he realized that he did not want to see Kitt get hurt. And that  
was what was going to happen because his partner had said it himself,  
there was no where for this to go.  
  
"Kitt... are you sure you... understood her correctly?" The moment the  
words were out, and he heard how bad it sounded, he regretted it. Once  
there had been a time when Kitt would have taken the question at face  
value, and simply reassured Michael that he had heard her right. But  
that time was long passed. Now Kitt could be hurt with questions like  
that.  
"You don't think it's possible for her to love me?"  
Michael cringed at the barely disguised pain in that usually warm  
voice. "No, I'm sorry Kitt, that came out wrong. It's just...."  
"I know," Kitt finished for him, "you don't have to tell me. I'm a  
computer in a car and she is a beautiful, bright woman. She could have  
anyone. Why on earth would she show any interest in me."  
  
Michael dropped his forehead to the glass. "That wasn't what I was  
going to say." He had known that this would not be all that easy, but  
he had not really been fully prepared for how difficult it was proving  
to be. "Don't put yourself down. You're intelligent, sensitive, you've  
got a wonderful sense of humour, now, and you're a charmer when you want  
to be. Don't think I haven't noticed. People respond to you. That  
lady who gave you that sculpture she'd done of you because she said that  
you'd moved her? That French woman Devon somehow knows, the one that  
adores you cause you speak her language fluently? Bonnie's friend Jacq  
who can't keep her hands off you? You entice people. There's no reason  
Ella shouldn't be caught up in that too."  
  
"But Ella's different, Ella responds to _me_. She talks to _me_, not  
because I'm there, or because it's different, or curious, or polite, she  
goes out of her way to talk to me, and when she's with me, it's so  
natural. Her body language, everything about her... it's as if she's  
keyed in to me. She talks to me the way most people talk to you."  
  
Michael took in Kitt's point. And when he thought about it, he  
realized how true it was. A great many people did still see Kitt as a  
curiosity, especially when they first met him. But Ella had gone  
straight to him, accepted him instantly without question, exactly the  
way he was.  
  
"Don't you want me to see her?" Kitt asked finally, quietly.  
"Kitt, it's not that. I really am happy that you've found each other.  
I just don't want to see you get hurt, because I've been there and to  
tell you the truth, I was quite glad that it was something I thought you  
weren't ever going to have to experience." He took a deep breath,  
knowing Kitt deserved the truth. He lowered his voice. "It would feel  
a little bit odd... sharing you with someone. You've always been here  
for me and me only. It's addictive almost, a feeling of uniqueness  
because I have someone like you. But Kitt, I'd get used to you seeing  
Ella, I don't want you to worry about that."  
"I'll always be here for you, Michael," Kitt told him softly, touched  
by his partner's words. "Never think that I won't be."  
  
Michael smiled, and twisted around until he was on his back again.  
After a while, he began to speak. "'Empathy, humanity, love; these  
qualities are resident within a man's soul, no matter where that soul  
resides.'"  
"Isaac Asimov."  
"I always wondered what he meant by that, until I met you. There are  
times when I think we ought to have you christened. This is the reason  
why they would never build another car like you, you have almost every  
human trait, and no way to deal with at least half of them."  
"Does it bother you that I am so human, as you put it?"  
"No, it doesn't. In fact, the more you develop, the easier you are to  
get on with. But don't you find that the more you develop, the harder  
certain things are to cope with?"  
"Yes. The longer we're together the harder it is to imagine being  
without you. I remember a time when I would have accepted a replacement  
driver if you had left the Foundation, now, I don't think I could."  
"At least that's something we know you're not gonna have to worry about  
now. Kitt, if I leave, you come with me."  
"Not that you're going to."  
"Not that I'm going to." Michael smiled. "We've been here before."  
"I know, I was just checking."  
"You were changing the subject." There was mock-accusation in  
Michael's tone, and he believed he could sense Kitt blushing.  
"If I was, it's a habit I picked up from you."  
"Oh, I see. Blame me, do you? Is that what you tell Bonnie when she  
discovers you've learnt a new skill?"  
"It depends on the skill, if it's a function that is useful and  
productive, I tell her I programmed it myself."  
Michael shook his head, astounded. "And Devon still claims you're not  
human."  
"I'm not!"  
"Sometimes, Kitt, you really could fool me."  
  
**  
  
The moment Ella rejoined the party, Bonnie noticed a change in her.  
She was quieter, even more preoccupied, and it did not take Sherlock  
Holmes to work out why. Whatever had been building between Ella and  
Kitt for days, something had obviously happened out there. Ella  
politely declined offers of dances until Bonnie decided that they should  
both get out of there. For the first time in a long, long while, Bonnie  
rang for a cab, told Devon they would meet him back at the house, found  
Ella and they left.  
  
After some discussion they went back to the estate. Ella chose a  
bottle of wine from the cellar, and they started a log fire in the  
lounge, more for atmosphere than warmth. More photos adorned the walls,  
some of Wilton Knight, a few of the staff at the Foundation, of Bonnie,  
Devon and Michael. There was a shot of a group of technicians, all  
sitting and standing around Kitt. Ella recognized Pete, and most of the  
others, they were a friendly bunch who obviously took good care of Kitt,  
and she felt drawn to them because of that. But there was one face she  
did not recognize. A woman, short blond hair, pretty face, leaning  
quite possessively over the driver's side of Kitt's sunroof. Ella could  
not believe the wave of jealousy that swept over her.  
  
Bonnie finally found the wineglasses and the corkscrew and joined Ella  
in the lounge, too intoxicated already to worry whether or not they were  
about to drink one of Devon's prized vintages. She padded up to stand  
next to Ella in front of the photo. "Who's the woman?"  
Bonnie looked closer, then pulled back. "That's Avril. She was  
employed as one of Kitt's technicians, a few years ago." Ella could  
hear the anger creep into Bonnie's voice.  
"What happened?"  
"She... betrayed us. She'd been here, working very closely with Kitt,  
for about seven months. Then one day she overrode Kitt's control and  
took off with the car. She drove out to Las Vegas, tried to sell it,  
and when a guy wouldn't give her what she wanted, she killed him. She  
ran him over."  
"Using Kitt?"  
Bonnie nodded. "We tracked her down within a matter of hours, and she  
tried to use Kitt to kill Michael. They stood there, face to face, and  
Kitt suddenly went for him. He stopped just in front of Michael's  
knees. He'd overridden her, broken through his own programming to come  
to his own conclusion. I was so proud of him, but I'll tell you, that  
moment when he started towards Michael, was the worst moment of my  
entire life."  
  
Bonnie sat down on the rug in front of the fire, and opened the wine.  
Finally Ella joined her, but she was still having trouble taking in what  
Bonnie had said. "She used Kitt to kill a man?"  
"She ran him over. She could have used any car."  
"But she used Kitt."  
"Yes." Bonnie looked up at her sadly. "And he does remember. He  
refused to go back on the road for weeks. He kept asking us to  
deactivate him. And even when Michael had talked him round, reassured  
him that none of it had been his fault, Kitt still seemed devastated by  
the whole episode. It took a long time for him to learn to trust  
again." Bonnie handed her a glass of wine.  
"It must have been a difficult time for you."  
"It was a difficult time for all of us, especially for Kitt. They put  
him through a myriad of tests afterwards. But we got through it, like  
we get through everything else."  
  
Ella nodded slightly, letting her attention wonder to the flames in the  
grate. "How could anyone do that to him?" She asked quietly. "How  
could anyone know him, and work with him, and then force him to go  
through something like that?"  
Bonnie smiled. "Not everyone cares for him like you do."  
"But even so...." Ella could feel the anger building within her. She  
knew she had to let it go, there was nothing she could do to change what  
that woman had done.  
Eventually Bonnie decided to change the subject, and her curiosity was  
starting to get the better of her. "I gather you didn't leave the party  
to go and feed the ducks?"  
"I just wanted to see him, to talk to him." Ella pushed her fingers  
through her hair. "Bonnie, I don't know what's happening. I used to  
think that I had complete control of my life. I was totally content  
with my job, my friends, working late hours, spending nights on the  
Internet, weekends away at various people's houses. I've been out with  
a few guys but nothing ever seems to work, and I always felt more  
comfortable when I wasn't seeing anyone."  
"But...?"  
"But Kitt is making me think that maybe I'm missing something." She  
took a sip of the wine, and reached over for the bottle. "I'm not sure  
we should be drinking this Bonnie."  
Bonnie frowned, tasting the fine liquid. "What makes you say that?"  
"This bottle says 1953."  
"Shit!" She took another sip. " It's very nice though. There are so  
many bottles down there, he'll never notice."  
  
Ella nodded, gazing up around her. The firelight was the only  
illumination in the room, playing with shadows on the walls. She felt  
happy and secure here, the place felt like it was full of love. "Do you  
all stay here for Christmas?"  
"Usually. We have a meal on Christmas day, Devon's daughter and her  
family sometimes join us. Michael and Kitt tend to take a vacation  
between Christmas and New Year." She met Ella's eyes with her own and  
smiled. "I'm not so sure they'll be doing that this year though."  
"What makes you say that?"  
"Because I think Kitt will plant his tires in the gravel and refuse to  
move." She gazed into her glass. "And maybe Michael will feel like  
relaxing around here for a few days. You're very welcome to join us, if  
you haven't got any other plans."  
"Thank you." Ella's gaze was drawn to the play of light in her own  
wineglass. "I don't often see my family anymore. My parents don't  
really get on that well, and my brother's always telling me that I  
should act more like a woman."  
Bonnie frowned, and her expression told Ella that it was a line she too  
was familiar with. "What does that mean?"  
"I'm not sure. Put on a skirt, go to a club and pull some drunken hunk  
I guess. I never asked him exactly what he thought I should be doing.  
His opinion never meant that much to me. Don't get me wrong, I have a  
lot of friends, and they're all wonderful. I would never have described  
myself as lonely. I just never felt the urge to go out every night and  
pull a different guy. I was actually starting to think that maybe I  
was a lesbian and just hadn't worked it out yet."  
"Until you met Kitt."  
Bonnie had expected some sort of reaction, but Ella just nodded.  
"Until I met Kitt." She sighed. "Honestly, Bonnie, I don't know what  
I'm doing."  
"I wish I could offer you some advice. I've felt a little of what  
you're feeling, but I never let it go beyond late night musings."  
"Why?"  
"Because I helped create Kitt, I helped build him, I nurtured him. I  
have a place in his life which no one could ever fill if I left. I  
don't ever want to jeopardize what I have here. And I was always  
attracted to Michael I guess. Kitt's the most important person in the  
world to me, I wouldn't ever want to risk hurting him."  
Ella finished off her wine, staring away into the bottom of her glass.  
"He makes me feel... like no one else ever has. I don't quite  
understand how, or why. I know it's crazy."  
"It's not crazy. There's a side to him that people don't see because  
he doesn't show it very often. He's a romantic at heart, craving love  
and affection and closeness as much as the rest of us do. But I think  
that he believed love wasn't something he was ever going to experience,  
until you came along."  
"Look, Bonnie, I'd be the first to admit that Kitt's not just a  
machine. But he is what he is. He is Michael's car."  
"Yes, he is. But he's also as close to sentient as a computer has ever  
become. He's unique, and the normal rules just don't apply any more."  
  
Bonnie filled their glasses. "I can make a suggestion." She said  
quietly.  
"Go for it."  
"Just for tonight, just while we're sitting here with a real fire, and  
drinking some of the most expensive wine only influence can buy, why  
don't we just accept that Kitt is someone you love, who loves you back,  
and pretend that everything's going to work out, happily ever after."  
Ella carefully clinked her glass with Bonnie's.  
"To fairytales."  
  
**  
  
The sun was starting to rise as Michael piloted Kitt home. The car  
seemed edgy, excited almost, and although Michael was used to feeling  
the potential power under the hood, this time it seemed to be more like  
Kitt badgering Michael to go faster. Eventually, he gave in. "Would  
you like to drive?"  
There was no hesitation. "Yes."  
Michael shook his head, prepared to let it go for now - he knew Kitt's  
emotions were messed up; the computer had a lot to deal with at the  
moment, and he understood that. "Ready?"  
"Anytime."  
"3 2 1...."  
In the usual swap-over procedure, Michael released the wheel at the end  
of the countdown and Kitt took over smoothly. It was a method they  
usually used when Michael was taking over from Kitt at high speeds, but  
it seemed easier to use it both ways.  
  
The moment Kitt had control, their speed shot up from 120 to 200 in a  
matter of two or three seconds. Michael sat back, unconcerned with the  
roadside drops of several hundreds of feet that Kitt was toying with.  
He trusted Kitt with his life, always had and always would. It always  
touched him, the feelings of safety and belonging that he felt when he  
was with Kitt. Even after the attack, he still felt like nothing and no  
one could touch them.  
  
"In a hurry, are we partner?"  
"I'm merely enjoying exercising my considerable speed capabilities."  
"Liar."  
"Well, it was worth a try."  
Michael laughed. "I remember a time when you wouldn't even have  
considered fibbing. For any reason."  
"As you say, I have developed, helped along by your example."  
"Thank you, I'm sure Devon really appreciates what I've done to you.  
Anyway Kitt, Ella's probably in bed by now."  
"Thank you for reminding me."  
Michael's curiosity was piqued by his partner's reply. "Kitt, could I  
ask you... a personal question?"  
"Of course."  
"Does being with Ella... excite you? Do you feel that find of thing?"  
Michael felt like a voyeur, but at the same time he was interested. He  
had always wanted to learn more about Kitt's environment, about how his  
partner perceived things; what he heard, what detail he saw. During one  
of the long nights following Avril's betrayal, Kitt had asked Michael if  
he realized what it was like to see a world surrounding him, but to know  
he would never really be a true part of it. When he took Kitt's mental  
state, at the time, out of the question, Michael drew the conclusion  
that they were both seeing the same surroundings, but perceiving them in  
a slightly different way. And the closer Michael became to Kitt, the  
more he found he wanted to understand about Kitt's world.  
  
Kitt did not answer at first, but it was more out of an inability to do  
so, rather than an unwillingness, or embarrassment over sharing the  
information with Michael. "Could you define the phrase 'excite me'?  
I'm not quite sure what you're referring to."  
Michael started to wish that he had not asked. "Well, you know, excite  
you, arouse you." He waved his hands around in the air, as if that  
would help.  
"Arouse me?" There was a note of disbelief in Kitt's voice.  
"Yeah. You know," he lowered his voice for no reason. "Sexually."  
"Sexually?!" This time the disbelief was definite. "Michael, what are  
you talking about? Do you see any genitalia around here?!"  
Michael could feel himself blushing, and wished Kitt at least had the  
common decency to be a little embarrassed about the subject. "Well,  
obviously you haven't got the parts..."  
"Then how... why would I feel sexual arousal? Not that I'd know it if  
I did feel it." He added, somewhat puzzled by this whole conversation.  
"Oh, you'd know it, Kitt, believe me."  
  
Silence fell between them as Michael tried to think of some way out of  
this one. Then suddenly Kitt asked, "Michael you don't think that Ella  
thinks...."  
"No." He stopped Kitt hurriedly. "I don't think that at all."  
He felt the car slow considerably, and sat up. "Kitt, what's wrong?"  
"It's never going to work is it?" Kitt asked him miserably. "There's  
no way. There are too many differences. It would be like that film -  
'The Man With Two Brains' - when all he wanted was to get the brain into  
a female body so that he could have sex with her."  
Michael frowned at the bizarre interpretation of the Steve Martin  
comedy. "I didn't mean...." He shook his head, all too aware that what  
Kitt was trying to say was the truth of the situation. "I'm sorry,  
Pal."  
  
They travelled the rest of the distance in silence; Michael still not  
completely sure that Kitt had answered his original question, Kitt  
knowing that he had not answered the question, and no longer sure that  
he wanted to. Maybe that night was all he was going to have to remember  
Ella by - all that would ever happen between the two of them that was  
theirs only. It made him sad to think about it.  
  
**  
  
Michael's eyes drank in Bonnie's lithe form as she strode over to the  
garage. He stood in the window of the breakfast room drinking coffee  
and wondering if Kitt was feeling any happier. He had spent the rest of  
the night again curled in the front seat, like a worried father. Kitt  
had assured him that he was fine, but had been something in the  
synthesized tone that had had Michael concerned, and he had stayed  
anyway.  
  
He was pulled from his train of thoughts by the door opening, and Ella  
walking gingerly across to the coffeepot. She poured herself a mug  
full, and then perched herself on the end of the table, looking out at  
the garage where she knew Kitt was parked. Michael waited until she was  
settled. "Heavy night?"  
Ella looked at him as if she had not realized that he was there.  
"Yeah, Bonnie and I came back early and raided Devon's cellar." She  
forced herself to swallow a mouthful of the strong blend. "You two left  
even earlier."  
"I'm sure Bonnie told you how much I hate those things."  
"Kitt certainly is much better company."  
Michael took that as his cue. He turned, not wanting to say anything  
out of order, but remembering Kitt's misery the night before. "You're  
confusing him, Ella."  
"He's confusing me." She shot back. "It feels like I've finally met  
the man I'm supposed to be with for the rest of my life, but it turns  
out he's a computer."  
"But you knew what he was when you got into this."  
"I know," she sounded as frustrated and confused as Kitt had. And  
Michael started to think that maybe neither of them were to blame here.  
Maybe the blame lay in an idea had by a dying man many years ago. "I  
thought... I don't know. It's like virtual dating isn't it? Thousands  
of people have relationships over the Internet, chatting each other up,  
spending time together, having virtual sex, all with words, no physical  
contact, some never see each other."  
"But you always know that it's a human being on the other side, you  
always know that there's a person typing those words. You can ask for a  
photo."  
"But it doesn't matter. You never know for certain. Kitt could do it,  
no one would ever know that he wasn't a human being."  
"But you know. And you're the one he's interested in. He doesn't go  
surfing the Internet. He doesn't go searching for women, he isn't...  
like that. You're very special to him, Ella. You're the first and  
you're very likely to be the last, however this ends."  
"What are trying to say? Do you really think I'd be doing this if I  
didn't feel very strongly for Kitt? Michael, you have to believe that  
he's very special to me. I haven't been with a guy in at least two  
years. I haven't wanted to be involved with anyone. I wouldn't be...  
going after Kitt if I wasn't very attracted to him." She stood, walking  
over to the window. "I feel alive when I'm with him," she dropped her  
voice. "I feel as if he would love me forever and never hurt me."  
"But the real question is, could you love him as unquestioningly as he  
would love you?"  
Michael watched Bonnie cross the driveway, seemingly in a hurry, as he  
waited for Ella's answer. She never gave him one.  
Bonnie appeared in the doorway, making them both turn.  
"Michael," she said quietly, "turn your comlink off."  
  
**  
  
Once Devon had shown Michael the folder Detective Carlson had dropped  
on to his desk, Michael was desperate to hit the road. But Kitt was not  
so desperate. Only the idle threat of taking Devon's beloved  
Convertible shifted Kitt into the driveway.  
  
Kitt had not said very much to neither Ella nor Michael since that  
morning, and Michael knew he was in trouble the moment they left the  
estate. He pushed in a tape, and Kitt switched it off.  
"You owe me an apology."  
"I know. I am sorry, Kitt."  
There was a pause, and the tape started. It was all Kitt said for the  
first part of the journey.  
  
Michael was starting to desperately miss his partner's banter as the  
car ate up the freeway at a considerable speed. It was strange to be  
continually looking down at the columned panel and seeing it dark and  
silent, usually it was all he could do to shut Kitt up for long enough  
to listen to the news on the radio. After about 200 miles, Michael came  
to a decision. Firstly he tried just taking his hands off the wheel,  
but Kitt simply took control, until Michael stabbed the Manual Cruise  
button in frustration. So he decided on a different tactic. He took a  
deep breath, and slammed his foot down, knocking the accelerator to the  
floor. The car shot forward like a bullet, and the digits on the  
speedometer began to rise rapidly. Kitt still did not say a word, and  
Michael kept his foot on the pedal, pushing their speed upwards of  
150mph. Neither partner gave in until the car was moving at 170mph.  
"Michael, please...." It was not a plea, more a sigh of defeat.  
"Stop sulking and I'll slow down."  
"All right."  
"Good." Michael eased back off the gas, and let the car slow down  
naturally until they were cruising at 120. "Talk to me! I'm going  
insane here!"  
"I was just thinking about what Ella said to you this morning."  
"Which bit?"  
"She told you that she felt that she had met the man she was supposed  
to spend the rest of her life with."  
"You've spent the passed two hundred miles thinking about that? Kitt,  
women say that all the time!"  
"You only have this negative attitude towards relationships because you  
have so many of them."  
Michael smiled at Kitt's prissy tone. This was more like it. "So  
you're the expert now are you?"  
"Michael, I've decided that there's nothing I can do to change what's  
happening. And I don't want to. So while Ella feels this way, I'm  
going to enjoy it." Kitt sounded distinctly uncertain. But Michael  
recognized this as a start. "And we'll deal with the fallout later."  
Kitt finished.  
"Oh, we'll deal with it will we?" But there was warm affection lacing  
Michael's voice.  
"Yes."  
"Kitt, that's fine with me." He settled himself back down. "So, now  
we're talking again, is there any chance of your plotting a route to Mr.  
Clay's residence."  
The four small monitors lit up, displaying the required maps and  
overlaid route. "Thank you."  
"Michael, I've been studying this man's file, and I can't see anything  
that would connect him to the attack on us, or with the destruction of  
the lab. William Clay is a very respected collector of automobiles. He  
has one of the largest collections in the country."  
"I know. It doesn't make sense to me either, but neither does his  
fingerprints turning up at the lab. He has never had anything to do  
with the Foundation, there's no reason for his prints to be there."  
  
Seven and a half hours later, with the sun having set beside them, Kitt  
and Michael finally pulled into the driveway of the Clay estate. It was  
vast. Stretching into the distance were a number of large hanger-size  
warehouses. The driveway itself was circular, with an island of tall  
trees and shrubs in the centre, in front of the house. Long, wide,  
shallow steps lead up to the front door, giving the place a stately  
feel, despite the building's lack of exterior decoration. As Michael  
cut the engine, it started to rain, a few drops sliding down Kitt's  
windshield.  
Michael looked around him, reluctant to leave the safety of Kitt's  
cabin until he was relatively sure he was not walking into a similar  
trap they had faced the previous week. "Scan the hangers, Pal."  
"Each structure contains up to eight cars. Michael, he has a limited  
edition Ferrari Escrit. And there's a white, unfinished Pontiac  
Firebird."  
"You sound impressed."  
"I am impressed. The cars are in immaculate condition."  
Michael reached for the door handle. "Listen, Kitt, if this guy was  
behind the attack... just try to keep your mind on the scanners, okay?"  
Kitt ignored the remark. "Michael, if he was behind the attack, you'll  
be in danger too."  
"I'm convinced he was after you, Partner. Just be careful, contact me  
if anything happens, and get away if you have to. I don't want to lose  
you again."  
"I'll be watching out for both of us."  
  
Michael found the doorbell and rang it. When the large white door was  
finally opened, he found himself greeted by a middle-aged man in formal  
wear. "May I help you, Sir?"  
"I'm looking for William Clay." Michael glanced at his watch. "I  
realize it's late...."  
"Please, Sir, step inside. He is still up, despite the late hour. Who  
shall I say wishes to see him?"  
"Michael Knight." The butler waited for more, but when more was  
forthcoming, he politely bowed his head and turned, heading back down  
the corridor and finally disappearing through a doorway. A moment  
later, a distinguished gentleman came out of the same doorway and strode  
up to Michael smiling openly.  
"Mr. Knight?"  
"Yes, I work for the Foundation for Law and Government." He took  
Clay's outstretched hand.  
"Ah yes, Wilton Knight's little association." Michael hid his surprise  
that Clay had heard of FLAG. He remained silent as he was led through  
into a small informal office just to their right. There was a large bay  
window that looked out into the driveway, and as they walked into the  
room, Michael saw Clay glance outside. He noted the glint in the man's  
eyes when he spotted Kitt, but said nothing.  
"Please, sit down and tell me what I can do for you."  
Michael seated himself on the edge of the two-seater sofa. "We had a  
break-in, to one of our labs, just over a week ago. We found your  
fingerprints, and because we prefer to do our own investigations, I'm  
here to ask you if you have any knowledge of how your prints may have  
got there."  
Clay's expression remained genial. He was a good-looking man in his  
early 50s, Michael guessed, with a very kind face, if that was not too  
much of a cliche.  
"Well, Mr. Knight, it looks as though you've found me out." His  
response took Michael by surprise. "You see, my daughter used to work  
for Knight Industries. I'm afraid she showed me around one night. I  
asked to take a peek at the car - the Knight Industries Two Thousand.  
She let me take a look into the garage. I swear I didn't touch  
anything, but I may have leaned on one of the work-tops somewhere." He  
looked guilty enough. "May I ask, is that the car outside? It is  
beautiful... I'm a collector you know."  
Michael tried to take everything in. It was not what he had been  
expecting. "What's your daughter's name?"  
"Avril. Avril Stone. She divorced some years ago, but she kept her  
married name because she is very well known in the computing industry."  
Clay stopped talking.  
Michael was trying his best to hide the anger that had surfaced the  
moment he had heard Avril's name. "Mr. Clay, are you aware of what your  
daughter did to us?"  
It was Clay's turn to be surprised. "She told me she left to take a  
job with better pay."  
Michael sunk his teeth into his bottom lip. This man sounded so proud  
of his daughter; did he really need to destroy that for his own  
satisfaction? Finally he stood, and Clay followed his lead.  
"Thank you for your time, Mr. Clay. I'm sorry to have bothered you."  
"Anytime, and there's anything else I can help you with...."  
Michael had a thought. "Well, I wonder if I could ask for a tour...  
I'm quite a lover of cars myself."  
Clay's face lit up. "Of course, it would be a pleasure. Please, let  
me go and fetch the keys."  
  
There were eleven hangers that Michael could count, and he guessed  
there may be more elsewhere on the sprawling estate. Clay had a genuine  
Rolls Royce, an original Aston Martin, one of the first Porsche 911s, a  
sparkling yellow Lamborghini. BMW, Ferrari, Pontiac, Lotus and TVR were  
all represented. There was a Mercedes that had been left in the hands  
of Baramus for too long, souped up to almost match Kitt's top speed.  
All were in immaculate condition, as Kitt had pointed out earlier, and  
Michael was impressed. Clay was an open, friendly man.  
  
As they walked and talked, Michael found himself liking Clay more and  
more. The 'please call me William' phrase had actually slipped into the  
conversation naturally, and Michael found himself on first name terms  
with their prime suspect within half an hour of meeting him. Clay was  
more than proud of his collection, he approached each one like it was a  
unique, priceless gem. Michael was beginning to think that he might  
actually trust Clay with his own car. When the tour ended, in what were  
rapidly becoming the small hours of the morning, Michael apologized  
sincerely for disturbing William late at night. They approached Kitt,  
and Michael opened the driver's door.  
"You really should keep a car like that more secure."  
"Oh, no need. It has a fingerprint scanner under the handle."  
William smiled. "Standard equipment, I suppose."  
Michael frowned. "Not too standard." He smiled, accepting William's  
out-stretched hand. "Thank you for not throwing me out."  
"It's been a pleasure Mr. Knight. And if this beauty is ever for  
sale...."  
"That's not likely, I'm afraid."  
Clay nodded, and when he spoke, Michael noted the odd quality to his  
voice. "I thought you might say that."  
  
Michael leaned back in the driver's seat, closing the door behind him  
as he watched William disappear inside.  
"Did you find out anything, Michael?"  
"I don't know, Kitt. He's a car collector; he loves cars. You should  
see them. It looks like he spends hours every day taking care of each  
one."  
Michael leant against the steering wheel. "I honestly don't know." He  
sighed. "Have you scanned the whole estate?"  
"Of course."  
"Find anything?"  
"Nothing suspicious. Cars." He took a scan of Michael's vitals.  
"You're upset."  
"Nah, Kitt, not upset. A little frustrated. When I meet someone we're  
going after I usually take an instant dislike to them. But I like  
William. He seems like an honest guy."  
"I trust your instincts, Michael." Kitt fell silent for a moment, then  
asked. "Could he explain how his fingerprints got into the lab?"  
"Sort of." Michael shifted uneasily in the seat. "Do you have any...  
memory of the attack?"  
"Bits. Much of my immediate memory was lost. Ella couldn't recover  
what hadn't been sent to the backup storage."  
"But you have memories of the moments before the attack?"  
"I have sketchy memories of the minutes before the first missile  
penetrated."  
"Were any of these cars around?"  
Reluctantly, Kitt went back to that fateful afternoon and scanned the  
images for cars. "Michael, the only match is a white Lotus Esprit.  
There was one stopped a mile or so from the attack site. There's also  
one at the back of the estate, but I can't get the plates from what I  
have from the attack. It isn't a rare car, but I'm not sure it's a  
coincidence either."  
  
Michael started the engine and tooled out of the driveway. The rain  
was coming down in earnest now.  
"Michael, you seem very distressed. Was it something that William Clay  
said?"  
Michael sighed deeply, long gone were the days when he could hide his  
feelings from his partner.  
"Kitt, there's something you need to know." He gazed down at the voice  
panel, obediently silent, waiting for the information. "William Clay is  
Avril Stone's father."  
Through the years, spending so much time with Kitt, Michael had learnt  
how to compensate, how to read Kitt's expressions from the lengths and  
quality of silences. As this silence lengthened, Michael knew his  
partner was as shaken by the news as he himself had been. Finally, Kitt  
found some words. "Wouldn't that give Clay the perfect motive for the  
attack?"  
"He didn't seem to know about what she did. She told him that she left  
Knight Industries to take a job that paid better."  
"But she's in jail, isn't she?"  
"I don't know. You'd better check on that."  
"Right away, Michael." There was a pause, and then he added, "It's  
late, maybe you should let me drive."  
"In a little while, Pal, let's get you settled back down, okay?"  
"I'm all right, Michael. It was... unexpected, that's all. I've  
linked into the Arizona justice department's computer, according to  
their records, Avril Stone was paroled last year."  
Michael closed his eyes for a moment, taking in Kitt's words. "I'm  
sorry," he whispered gently.  
"She killed a man, Michael." Kitt sounded almost shocked. "How could  
she get out so quickly?"  
"I don't understand either, Partner. But it strikes me as strange that  
she could fool her father for so many years."  
"It is possible, Michael. A telephone call can be made from anywhere."  
  
Michael frowned at the dash. "Why are you all for Clay? I thought  
you'd be searching for evidence against him."  
"Just because his daughter is a cold-blooded murderer, it doesn't mean  
he is like her. Besides, I still can't believe that a man so obviously  
fond of automobiles would try to destroy one, he seemed so genuine when  
you were both outside with me."  
  
Michael slipped back into thought, leaving his partner to watch the  
road and wallow in his own memories. Within seconds Kitt started to  
regret thinking about Avril at all. "Michael?"  
He came back to the here and now. "Yeah, Kitt?"  
"Nothing, I just needed to reach out and touch someone."  
"Too many memories, eh, Partner?"  
"Far too many."  
"Need something to take your mind off it?"  
"It would help."  
"Wanna drive?" Michael imagined he could feel Kitt's smile. "In  
three, two, one..."  
  
**  
  
Clay waited for the computer to boot, and telnetted to the chat server,  
logging in. He moved into a private room, and waited, knowing she would  
be along soon. After a ten-minute wait, on line, she finally turned up.  
  
_What do you want, Testa?  
I've just had a visit from your old friend  
_Is he still with you?  
No, they left half an hour ago  
_I need access  
That's your business, you're the expert  
_I need you to hit him again  
What will that accomplish?  
_I've found out how they saved his life, I can get access as the backup  
program executes  
They came here because they found my prints as the lab, they're  
already suspicious  
_Just once more Testa, then you can have your prize  
When?  
_Can you do it tonight?  
I suppose so  
_I'll be waiting  
  
Clay logged out and shutdown his machine. Then he walked into the  
hall, took his coat from the stand, and grabbed his car keys and  
mobile. From the car, he called his associates and arranged a  
rendezvous point on the only route from Phoenix to Reno. As he drove,  
he thought about the young man who had come to visit him earlier, and  
found himself glad that he would not be badly hurt, he had liked Michael  
Knight.  
  
**  
  
"When will they be back?"  
Bonnie smiled and sat down next to Ella on the patio. "You're missing  
him already?"  
Ella looked up at the moon. "I was thinking... about leaving." Her  
words were spoken quietly, Bonnie could hear the choked tears in her  
throat.  
"Why?" she asked gently.  
"This morning, Michael asked me if I could love Kitt as unquestioningly  
as he would love me. I couldn't answer that."  
Bonnie reached out and touched Ella's arm. "Believe me, Kitt does  
nothing unquestioningly." That got a smile in response. "If you want  
to leave because you want to go home, that's okay. But please don't  
leave because of Kitt. He may be falling in love with you, I know  
you're in love with him. Please don't run away from that." She watched  
Ella wipe tears from her eyes, aching in sympathy.  
"It's not easy, that's all. Knowing I'll never be able to hold him,  
never feel him holding me. Last night I was so desperate to be able to  
kiss him.... I'm just not sure how long I can on like that without  
going insane, as much as I love him."  
"I'm sorry... I'm not sure I can work that particular miracle. As for  
what Michael said to you, he's just being protective. He knows that if  
Kitt gets hurt, his life would become very complicated for some time."  
Bonnie was smiling as she spoke. "Seriously; you know how he feels  
about Kitt. He doesn't want to see him hurt. But I think Kitt knows,  
as well as you do, that sometimes the most risky paths are also the most  
rewarding."  
Ella nodded. "I don't want to leave, Bonnie. I know I'd miss him  
terribly."  
Bonnie looked out over the grounds. "I'm afraid all I can offer is a  
hot chocolate?" She ended in a question, and Ella turned and nodded.  
"You never know, they say chocolate is the universal solution."  
  
*  
  
Michael woke as their speed dropped rapidly.  
"Kitt, what's wrong?"  
"It may be nothing, but I've picked up a white Lotus Esprit on the road  
ahead."  
"Which direction is it travelling?"  
"It's stationary, and there's a truck with a very odd configuration  
about two miles ahead of it."  
"What do you mean by 'odd configuration'?" Michael peered out of the  
windshield into the rain. By now, Kitt had brought the car to a  
complete stop, and visibility was very low. Kitt tended to run with  
only the spots on, giving sufficient warning to other drivers without  
dazzling them with the high powered headlamps, and he had no need for  
windshield wipers.  
"My sensors are picking up unusually high radiation levels."  
"Weapons?"  
"Maybe.... After what we've been through I thought it best to be  
careful."  
"You did the right thing by slowing. How far off are we?"  
"Twenty miles."  
"We need another route."  
Kitt searched the maps until he found an alternative way home. "I'm  
not saying that it'll be as comfortable as the highway," he warned.  
"Doesn't matter, just get us around the car and the truck with a safe  
margin."  
  
Kitt turned the car in a 180-degree arc, and drove back to the narrow  
turning several miles in the direction they had just come. "Michael,  
are we running away?"  
Kitt's question surprised him. "Probably." He thought for a moment,  
then grabbed the wheel and stabbed the Manual Cruise button, turning the  
car in an arc a lot less graceful than the one Kitt had executed only a  
minute before.  
"Michael?"  
"Sorry, Kitt, but I just had an idea."  
"Feel like sharing?"  
Michael glanced down at the dash, smiling at his partner's phrase. It  
sounded like something he had picked up from Ella. "I was just thinking  
that if that white Lotus is Clay's..."  
"Then it won't be at the estate."  
"Very good."  
"Michael, how the hell did he get ahead of us?"  
Michael shrugged, frowning and looking down at the speedometer. They  
had been travelling at their usual speed. "I dunno. Maybe he knows  
shortcuts we don't."  
"In a Lotus?"  
"Maybe."  
"I honestly thought he'd have more respect." At least that brought a  
smile to Michael's lips.  
  
Michael's hunch was right. The Lotus Esprit was gone from the back of  
Clay's house. They sat in the driveway as Michael tried to figure out  
where he had gone wrong. "So they're back out there, waiting for us."  
"He can't really believe that we would fall for the same trap twice?"  
Michael thought about that, Clay had seemed like an intelligent man.  
"No, Kitt, he can't have. Did the readings from the truck out there  
match readings from the truck at the attack?"  
"I don't know."  
"Could you find out?" Kitt hesitated, and Michael realized that this  
was the second time he had asked his partner to delve into the painful  
memories of that afternoon. "I'm sorry, Kitt, but I need to know."  
"I understand that.... The truck on the road tonight is different from  
the first one. Having analyzed the radiation levels from this new  
truck, I would take a guess that there are missiles present inside."  
"Same as before?"  
"...Yes."  
Michael could hear the worry in Kitt's tone. "It's okay, Pal, we're  
one step ahead of them this time."  
"So what do we do?"  
"We wait. Clay won't stay out there indefinitely. He'll figure we  
went a different route and he'll come home. And then we'll have another  
chat with Mr. Geniality."  
  
It was an hour later when the ivory brow of Clay's Lotus appeared in  
the driveway. "Michael, please be careful."  
"Don't worry, Kitt, I'll tell him I dropped my keys."  
Michael got out of his car as Clay came around the front of the house.  
"Mr. Knight, I... I had to step out for a while, did you forget to ask  
me something?" Michael approached Clay, reaching him before he  
succeeded in getting his key in the door.  
"I know you were out there tonight, waiting for us."  
He expected Clay to deny it, but instead he took a step back and pulled  
a gun from his jacket. It was an unexpected move by a man who Michael  
had originally thought could not have had anything to do with the  
attack. Michael was not ready for it, and was caught, startled, in the  
line of fire. Instantly Kitt's engine started, and the car rolled  
forward, wary. Clay turned, addressing Kitt directly. "You just stay  
where you are, and I won't hurt him."  
"What do you want, Clay?"  
"Sadly, the truth is, I don't want anything. But a friend of mine has  
a somewhat disturbing obsession with your car."  
Michael's mind was racing. They were both quickly getting soaked in  
the downpour and he felt that this really was not how Clay had wanted it  
to happen. "Shooting me isn't going to help."  
"I'm well aware of that. And if you could just release external access  
to the Knight Industries computer inside the car, I will let you go, you  
have my word."  
"No. Absolutely not."  
Kitt sat with the engine running, an angry growl mixing with the hum of  
the turbines. But his voice was laced with uncertainty. "Michael..."  
"No, Kitt, don't even think about it."  
Clay cocked the safety back, raising the barrel hesitantly to Michael's  
head. "Do it."  
"Kitt, no."  
"Michael, I have to...."  
"No!" But he knew that his partner would do it, despite everything  
that they had said in the days gone by, Kitt would always sacrifice  
himself to save his partner's life. In desperation, Michael did the  
first thing that leapt to mind. He brought his knee up, catching Clay's  
thigh and knocking him off-balance. In the same moment, Michael ducked  
the gun and rolled. Clay brought the weapon back up, but Kitt had  
already got two wheels up onto the steps, shielding his driver from the  
enemy. Michael crawled up into the passenger side and heard the door  
close behind him. Clay fired at the windscreen, but only once. Kitt  
moved forward, climbing the steps using a mixture of traction and sheer  
power, managing to pin Clay against the closed door. "Drop the gun."  
  
Clay followed Kitt's order with a resigned reluctance, letting the gun  
clatter down over the dark, rain covered hood. Michael scrambled out of  
the car and punched Clay across the jaw, watching as he fell against the  
bumper that still pinned him against his own front door, the red glow  
from the scanner track tracing a line back and forth across his knees.  
"That was for what you did to Kitt, you bastard." Clay stayed quiet,  
except to sniff up the blood in his nose. "Now tell me who your friend  
is and where I can find him."  
Clay shook his head. "I can't."  
"I think you'll find that you can."  
"You don't understand, I don't know. We talk on a chat server."  
Michael frowned, "A what?"  
"It's an electronic system, Michael," Kitt informed him, "like email,  
but in real time."  
"You must still have a name? Where did you two meet?"  
"On the server, I swear, I've never met him."  
"So why do all this?"  
"He... he said I could have the car, once the computer was dead."  
Once again, Michael felt the anger surging through him. "So you're  
telling me, you don't even know a name?"  
"He logs on as 'A', just a letter."  
"Which chat server?" Kitt started to ask the questions he knew Michael  
would not know to ask.  
"Foothills."  
"What's the name of the room?"  
Clay hesitated, and Kitt nudged forward. "Those missiles were very  
uncomfortable," he said quietly.  
  
Clay felt the pressure on his legs increasing. He looked to Michael  
who just shrugged. "I would say he had just cause. Wouldn't you?"  
"I can't tell you!"  
Kitt nudged again. "Tell us."  
"Please, I can't...."  
Kitt had had enough, it had been a long day. He decided on a different  
tactic. "Do you know what your daughter did to me?" Clay looked  
straight at the windshield this time.  
"I don't know what you're talking about...."  
Michael glanced down. "Kitt, I didn't tell him."  
"Well then, I will." There was real hatred in Kitt's tone, and Michael  
stepped back warily.  
"Kitt... come on, let's not make this personal."  
But Kitt was angry - this man had attacked them, nearly killed him,  
placed him in a position where his only option had been to hurt  
Michael. And then he had tried again. And Kitt really hated it when  
people held guns to his partner's head; there was very little he could  
do in those situations and it scared him. "It's already personal,  
Michael. You daughter killed a man, Mr. Clay." Kitt stated. "She took  
control of this car and ran a man down. I know what his body felt like  
as it collided with the hood. I know how it crumpled as it bounced off  
the glass, I know how it felt as she crushed him under my wheels. And I  
will remember his screams for the rest of my existence." He pushed  
forward into Clay, ignoring the man's obvious shock. "Some people  
blamed me for what she made me do. They hurt me trying to ensure I  
wouldn't do it again. So give me one good reason why I shouldn't take  
something from her like she took from me."  
  
Michael was almost too stunned to hear what Clay said, but he knew he  
must have answered because Kitt's demand changed. "Now I want your  
login and password."  
"Please, don't make me...." He was silenced by the spike of pain that  
suddenly shot from his knees. "All right, my login is Testa, T E S T  
A. Password is E S 4 C R 1 T."  
"Thank you." Kitt finally backed off, descended the steps and sat  
idling threateningly in the driveway. Michael had a moment of  
indecision, but decided that Clay had enough to think about.  
"Who are the guys with the missiles?" There was enough anger and shock  
in his voice to ensure Clay did not think twice about answering.  
"They're old associates."  
"I never want to see them again, is that clear?" Clay nodded, but  
Michael wanted to make absolutely sure. "If we have any more trouble  
from you, I'll let Kitt loose in a couple of your hangers here. And  
believe me when I say that my car would come out without a single dent."  
  
Clay swallowed nervously, and nodded once more. "You won't see them  
again."  
"Good. Kitt, disable any computer in the building. I'm sorry you had  
to hear about Avril that way," he added to Clay. "But as you heard, she  
hurt Kitt very badly."  
Michael slowly walked around the car and opened the driver's side  
door. "Let's go home, partner."  
  
A great many miles went by before Kitt spoke again. "I'm sorry,  
Michael."  
"Kitt... why haven't you talked to me about this?"  
"I don't think about it very often. It just... he scared me,  
threatening you like that.... I'm sorry."  
"Stop apologizing. You didn't hurt him. You scared him, and you  
probably destroyed every dream he's ever had for his daughter. But you  
had your reasons, and you got us what we needed. What chat room did he  
say?"  
"Carroll."  
"Carroll? Strange. Does it mean anything to you?"  
"It's just a word. If I was to list all possible associated words it  
would take a very long time."  
"That's okay." Michael turned into the road that started them on  
Kitt's alternative route. "Did you mean what you said to Clay, about  
what you remember?"  
"Yes."  
"Kitt... I never realized.... If you'd have told me, we could have  
done something."  
"Like what?"  
"Get you some counselling. Let you talk to someone."  
"Michael, I appreciate this, but it was a long time ago."  
"I wish you'd told me. I thought... I thought you'd gone off-line or  
something..."  
Kitt's voice softened. "I had to keep the homing signal running,  
without her knowing it. I had to stay on-line."  
Michael could feel his heart breaking. After it had all happened, he  
had spent days with Kitt, reassuring his partner, ensuring no one hurt  
him. But not once had Kitt mentioned the terrible recollections that he  
had thrown at Clay. "I wish you would talk to me about things like  
that."  
"In future, you'll be the first to know."  
  
Kitt's tone definitely said 'end of conversation'. Michael would have  
liked to delve into it some more, but he dropped it, they had both had a  
very long day. He stared at the road in front of him, and Kitt's words  
came back to him, as clearly as if he were speaking them now. 'Some  
people blamed me for what she made me do. They hurt me trying to ensure  
I wouldn't do it again.' He knew what Kitt had been talking about.  
They had run a test program through his systems time and time again  
until he had snapped. He had destroyed most of the garage he was being  
kept in and finally buried himself under a pile of boxes in one corner,  
terrified, asking over and over to be deactivated.  
  
(Bonnie opened the door to the large garage, and showed Michael  
inside. In the dim light, he could see the scene of destruction about  
the floor below him. It looked as if a rampaging herd had entered the  
garage and become confused. Boxes, electronics, equipment, cylinders of  
God-knew what were all strewn about the floor. Amongst the wreckage,  
Michael could make out spilt tins of red and yellow paint.  
"Where the hell did the paint come from?" he asked quietly.  
"No one's really sure, Devon thinks it was being stored here for some  
reason."  
"There's loads of it!"  
"I know.... And it's not all on the floor." She took a step back,  
"Are you sure you'll be okay?"  
"He won't hurt me."  
"I don't know, Michael. Look at this place. We're just not sure  
anymore."  
"I am."  
  
Bonnie reluctantly closed the door behind her, leaving Michael standing  
at the top of the metal steps down. He looked around him, letting his  
eyes adjust to the light. As they did, he realized that the pile of  
devastated boxes in the far corner was covering something. He made his  
way slowly down the steps, and as he came to the base he could clearly  
see a single, small red light, flashing on and off madly, partly hidden  
by the boxes. He walked silently to the centre of the devastation, and  
sat down, cross-legged on the floor, avoiding the paint as best he  
could. Then he started to talk.  
"I can't possibly imagine what you're going through Kitt. But I want  
to help." He took in the destruction around him, and imagined the force  
that would have been needed to cause so much damage. "I'm here now, and  
you're going to be okay. I won't let anyone hurt you."  
  
From the pile of boxes, a distressed voice answered him. "It hurt so  
much."  
A tear formed in Michael's eye. "I'm sorry," he choked. "I tried to  
stop them. I tried but they insisted."  
"I don't understand. Avril had the controls. She killed that man, not  
me. Why are they doing this to me?"  
"I'm sorry...."  
"I would never, ever hurt you."  
"Kitt, I know...."  
"I can't take any more, please, Michael, deactivate me. Please."  
Michael bit his lip, tears streaming down his face as Kitt's despairing  
tone pulled at his heart. "Kitt, Avril hurt us all. I'm not gonna  
pretend that I know how you're feeling, or what you went through in her  
hands. But you can't ask me to deactivate you. One thing I do know is  
how much I would miss you if I lost you. I am not going to let her be  
the cause of your death."  
"Michael... you have to stop them doing this to me... please."  
  
Michael was about to reassure his partner that no more test programs  
would be forced upon him, when he heard Devon's voice. "It's over,  
Kitt. They've gone."  
Michael looked to see Devon walking down the steps towards him.  
"How...?"  
Devon same to stand by Michael's side, laying a gentle hand on his  
shoulder. "Bonnie... persuaded the young woman that she wanted to  
leave, and the gentleman went with her."  
Michael looked up at him, smiling through his tears.  
"You hear that, Pal? No more tests, Kitt, I promise. You can't ask me  
to ask Bonnie to deactivate you." He saw the horror cross Devon's face  
and wordlessly nodded. Then he turned his head again to address his  
distressed friend. "Please come back to me."  
  
In the corner of the garage, the pile of boxes started to move.  
Michael could hear the turbine hum of Kitt's engine, and slowly the  
black prow emerged nervously from its hiding place. Michael did not  
know whether to laugh or cry as he saw his car, covered in dust, and  
paint, pulling out from under a collapsing mass of cardboard boxes.  
Kitt came towards him slowly, stopping inches from Michael's still  
sitting form.  
"I would never hurt you." He repeated, pleading for Michael's belief  
in him.  
Michael shifted across the floor, leaning against the car and gently  
reaching up to touch the side of the hood. "I know, Pal." He sighed,  
closing his eyes and stroking the side of the hood reassuringly.  
"You're the best, Kitt.")  
  
Michael yanked himself back to the present, out of bad memories.  
"Kitt, could you take over, I need to change out of these clothes, I'm  
freezing."  
"Of course." Kitt took the controls, leaving Michael free to dig out  
his overnight bag from the back of the car. He always felt a little  
odd, stripping in the car, even though Kitt always promised him privacy,  
it was almost like stripping in front of another person. Someone who  
did not have everything that Michael had. He took off his jacket, shirt  
and jeans and towel-dried his hair before pulling on fresh, warm  
clothing.  
"So how do we connect to this chat server?"  
"I can do it from here. I can log in using Clay's name and password.  
That way I should be able to gain entrance to the Carroll room and find  
the list of names permitted into that room. Although, I would assume  
the person logging in as 'A' would be the only other name. I could be  
wrong. I would simply wait until someone else turned up."  
"Is it safe?"  
"Yes."  
"Great, do it. Wake me when you get company."  
"Good night, Michael."  
  
Kitt connected to the chat server and logged in. He could feel the  
other connections, could have traced each one back to source. But he  
simply sat in the entrance room for a while, listening to the chat  
around him. He had never had the inclination to join one of these  
groups, although he had often thought about the benefits to him. He  
would be able to interact in a group of people as simply another person,  
to communicate with so many other people on the same level, without them  
staring and questioning what he was. Although he had always enjoyed the  
sense that he was unique - one of a kind as Michael liked to put it - it  
could sometimes be a lonely existence, and he had considered chat rooms  
as a way to have company when no one else was around.  
  
He had email, mailing many people regularly on specific subjects that  
he could help with - but his friends were usually scientists or research  
fellows. He had a good friend at MIT who was always asking to meet him,  
but Kitt declined each time. Maybe one day, he would tell what he was,  
he doubted this particular person would ever change his attitude or his  
friendship. But Kitt sometimes liked the idea of just being another  
person, maybe overly intelligent, but not too different.  
  
He liked the Internet, loved the freedom email gave him, ensuring there  
was always someone to talk to. It allowed him to stay in touch with  
some of the people he and Michael had helped. Sally Flynn contacted him  
regularly, kept him up to date with her college studies and her  
continuing work with the family trucking business. But chat rooms had  
never really been something he had wanted to get involved with. It was  
too impersonal, he had imagined.  
  
But the people around him now were chatting like they had known each  
other all their lives. Personal details were being exchanged, and  
suddenly Kitt felt very exposed. He moved into the Carroll room,  
expecting a long wait. But immediately he was greeted.  
  
_Where the fuck have you been Testa?  
  
He reacted quickly.  
  
There were problems  
_What kind of problems?  
  
  
Kitt found himself unable to answer. The function he had executed to  
trace 'A''s location and machine had come back with its data. Kitt had  
instantly processed it and the information was now sitting at the  
forefront of his CPU. As soon as he could think again, he dropped the  
connection with the chat server, too scared to stay any longer. He  
recognized the machine address that the trace had provided. He knew who  
'A' was, and Clay had been wrong. It was not a 'he'.  
  
**  
  
Ella wanted to throw her arms around Kitt the moment she saw his  
sparkling form appear in the driveway. It was well into the afternoon,  
and they were a lot later arriving back than they should have been  
thanks to their confrontation with Clay. Bonnie immediately wanted to  
check Kitt's systems, but he asked her for some time with Ella, and she  
agreed, instead deciding to run a quick check on Michael's systems.  
Ella waited until Michael had met up with Devon and followed him inside  
before climbing into the driver's seat. "So, how was Phoenix?"  
But Kitt was in no mood for small talk. He had spent the entire  
journey back trying to figure out what he had done to make a total  
stranger hate him with such passion. Although he had managed to get a  
hold on his fear, he was still worried. "Ella, I need to talk to you."  
She recognized the tone immediately. "I'm here, Kitt."  
"Can we go somewhere... private?"  
"Sure, any suggestions?"  
  
It was slightly unnerving when the engine started up by itself, and the  
car turned, heading up a track further into the grounds. But by the  
time they reached the hunter's lodge that acted as guest quarters for  
the mansion, Ella was used to Kitt driving. It almost seemed natural.  
And he was the smoothest driver she had ever known. He pulled the car  
to a stop with his brow at an gentle angle to the steps into the lodge,  
and shut the engine off. They were left with only the sounds of nature  
around them.  
"What's wrong, Love?"  
Kitt hesitated, but he knew he had to tell someone, and he knew that  
Ella was the right person because of what she already knew. "William  
Clay was behind the attack on us. It turns out that his daughter is  
Avril Stone, she was a technician...."  
"It's okay, Kitt, Bonnie told me about her. You don't need to  
explain."  
Kitt felt inexplicably glad about that. "I'm not sure whether what she  
did had anything to do with what Clay did. He told us that he was  
working with someone he had met on a chat server. He gave us the name  
of the server, the room, along with his password and login name."  
"Which server?"  
"Foothills."  
Ella smiled. "I know the guy who wrote that...." She hesitated.  
"He's wonderful."  
Kitt was momentarily distracted by an odd sensation he had not  
previously encountered. Whatever it was, he found himself disliking it  
immensely, and he was not sure how to proceed. Ella seemed to realize,  
because she reached out and gently covered the nearby perceptor with her  
palm. "It's okay, Kitt. He's not even living in this country."  
That helped. Kitt forced himself back to what he had to tell her, and  
the more familiar feeling of dread returned. "I logged in on the way  
back, using Clay's name and password. I entered the room and his friend  
was already in there. I set a trace to find the machine address of that  
person."  
  
Ella got there before Kitt. She had recognized his tone from when she  
had approached him after his exit from the garage just after their  
return here. She allowed the sinking feeling to take her guess  
further. "What was the name of the room?"  
"Carroll."  
"Oh no...."  
"It's her, Ella. It's Alice."  
  
Ella closed her eyes and leant forward, dropping her forehead to the  
steering wheel and pressing down harder on the perceptor, trying to  
reassure Kitt that she was here to help.  
"You have to tell Michael."  
"I can't...."  
"Please, Kitt.... She may have lost her accomplice but if she's gone  
to these lengths, she isn't going to stop now."  
"But without Clay there's nothing she can do, my systems have too much  
security now. There's no way in."  
"There's always a way in."  
"Yes, with usual computers. But, Ella, I'm not your usual computer. I  
have security the Government is unaware of. Every interface that I make  
with another computer is transient, they can't be used to get back into  
my systems. There is no way in."  
"There is one way. The CEEPS backup. If she'd worked out somehow that  
the emergency backup isn't secured... maybe that's why she'd told Clay  
to hit you again."  
Kitt thought about that. "But we've removed Clay from the equation,  
and I only make a mistake once."  
Kitt's tone was growing more and more desperate. Ella knew that he  
just wanted all this to go away. But it was not going to, Alice was not  
simply going to disappear. "Are you happy, knowing she's out there?"  
"Of course not. But even if we do find her, what then? She hasn't  
done anything wrong."  
Ella took her hands off the wheel, anger feeding her. "She raped you,  
Kitt!"  
"It's not possible to rape a computer Ella," he hesitated, distressed,  
"however right you may be."  
Ella sighed, she knew she was just agitating Kitt more. "You can't let  
her scare you. I know that you see her as powerful, in your own way,  
but you're not a usual victim, you can fight back. I understand that  
your neural nets link certain events to certain feelings in the same way  
that a the human brain does. We experience something terrible and  
things that were linked to that experience at the time, remain linked  
unless we do something to break them. It's not so different for you.  
You have paths between what Alice did to you, her presence within your  
systems, and the way it made you feel. When you saw her machine address  
last night, those pathways were activated, they swamped you with the  
feelings of horror and fear that you experienced when she was attacking  
you. But it doesn't have to be that way. You can sever those pathways  
and build new ones. You can link her with feelings of strength and  
victory, you can beat her Kitt. You're a million times better at this  
than she is, you have the experience, you know you're the best. Prove  
it to her."  
"Why do you understand me so well?"  
"Because I love you, Kitt. I'm still learning about you, and  
everything new that I discover amazes me. I know what you've been  
through with Alice. But you have to believe me when I tell you that you  
can take control of this situation. I'm not gonna let that bitch hurt  
you any more."  
Kitt was touched. "Ella.... I can't tell Michael. I know that he's  
going to want me to tell him who Clay's friend is, but the only way I  
found to explain it to you was to show you the picture. I don't want  
Michael seeing that."  
"It's okay, I'll tell them."  
  
Kitt paused before asking, "Devon knows, doesn't he?"  
Ella stared at the voice panel. "How do you know that?"  
"At the time, just after I destroyed Alice's computer, I could sense  
something different with Devon, almost distrust, for quite some time. I  
had taken data from her machine before I wiped the disks, she had the  
foundation's email address listed, along with Devon's personal address.  
I put two and two together, and figured that she must have mailed Devon  
and told him, maybe bragged about what she had done. I imagine she sent  
him a sample of what she'd been placing in my memory."  
Ella nodded silently. "He didn't mean anything... he knows he reacted  
badly."  
"He told you he knew?"  
"Yeah, he must have overheard us that night I wiped it from the  
backup."  
"Did he tell anyone else?"  
"No."  
  
A quiet fell, broken only by the faint wind in the branches of the bare  
trees. "Ella, why me?"  
"Kitt, I don't know... maybe she envies you...."  
"No, not Alice, you. Why did you chose me?"  
Ella leaned back in the seat, eyes moving from the voice panel to the  
scenery outside the windshield. She knew Kitt was not after compliments  
or flattery, it was a different question when he asked it. "I'm not  
sure there is an answer to that. These things... just happen."  
"I meet a great many women, mostly through Michael. None of them come  
close to you. It's difficult to describe my feelings in a way that  
would make any sense to you, and still get over to you how I actually  
perceive those feelings. It's like... like every system running in  
total harmony, a peace within my self that I haven't experienced  
before."  
"Is it a good experience?"  
"It's perfect."  
  
Ella sat forward, finding the perceptor once more with her fingers of  
her left hand, while those of her right stroked gently across the voice  
panel.  
"I don't know what's going to happen to us, Kitt."  
"Me neither, and in a way, it's more frightening than anything Alice  
could do to me."  
"I think... I think that's love."  
Kitt had no reply to that.  
  
**  
  
Ella felt a little like Agatha Christie's 'Poirot'. She sat atop  
Devon's desk, looking into the shocked expressions of Bonnie and Michael  
as they sat in large, uncomfortable armchairs in front of her. Behind  
her a subdued Devon was staring at the top of his desk. Ella could  
hardly bare to see the look on Michael's face. For some reason, she had  
assumed that Bonnie would be the one to react worst. Bonnie simply  
looked sad. Michael looked as if his world had been turned upside down.  
  
"Why didn't he tell me? Why won't he talk to me about these things?"  
Ella ached for him, sympathy and understanding shining clear in her  
eyes. She remembered how she had felt when Kitt had first told her, and  
she had only known him a matter of days. These people were his family,  
the closest people in the world to him.  
"He didn't know how to explain what she was doing without showing you  
the images, and he wanted to spare you from that." Michael stood  
suddenly, frustrated, he started to pace the room. "Please don't put  
him through any more," Ella begged him.  
Michael stopped several feet in front of her. "I don't want to put him  
through any more. I want him to start trusting me enough to talk to  
me! Everything we've been through...." He moved over to the window,  
and something irrational within him wanted to smash it. Ella was still  
watching him intently, and now, so was Bonnie. "I don't understand why  
he can't talk to me after seven years." There was a catch in his voice,  
and Ella knew that he was crying. She felt a little like crying  
herself. "What's the point in us being together if he can't confide in  
me? I tell him everything!" He turned to Ella, pleading in his  
tear-filled eyes. "How come he can tell you all this? He's know you a  
couple of weeks!"  
Bonnie stood slowly. "Maybe that's why, Michael. Maybe sometimes he  
needs to talk to someone who isn't as involved as we are."  
"But this isn't the only thing! He still remembers every detail of  
what Avril Stone did to him, yet in all this time he hadn't said  
anything. Doesn't he think I'd understand? Is that it? Does he  
imagine that I don't expect him to hurt like the rest of us?"  
"Of course not." Ella moved next to him. "You know him better than  
anyone."  
"That's what I don't understand! He knows... he knows what I think  
about him, he can tell me anything."  
  
In the silence that followed, Devon finally lifted his head. "I can  
show you why." Ella turned quickly.  
"Devon...."  
"I have a copy of one of images Alice sent to Kitt."  
Ella bit down on her denial. She did not really want Devon showing  
Michael what Kitt had suffered to protect him from. But then again, in  
Michael's state all he was going to do was upset Kitt even more. Maybe  
showing him was the only way to stop the unique relationship from being  
harmed.  
Devon was looking to her for agreement, and slightly reluctantly, she  
nodded. He opened the bottom drawer of his desk with a key, and reached  
under some folders, pulling out a single piece of A4 paper. Michael  
closed in on the desk, reaching out a shaking hand to take the colour  
printout from his boss's fingers.  
  
His tears fell steadily as he focused on the image. "Oh Kitt...." He  
sat down in the nearest chair, unable to close his eyes against the  
horror of what was in front of him. "He could have told me." But there  
was no accusation in his tone anymore.  
  
Bonnie stayed away, not wanting to ever know. She had heard of Alice  
through her friends at MIT, and her anger was directed towards herself.  
How could they have not known that Kitt was going through this? How  
could he have kept something so terrible from them for three months?  
Her eyes fell on Michael, and on Ella crouched in front of him. In  
seven years, she had only seen him cry three times, and two of those  
times had been in the last three weeks. They had to end this, or it was  
going to tear them all apart.  
  
Ella stood, backing off as she saw Devon coming towards them. Very  
quietly, he said to her, "We need some time." She nodded, and glancing  
at Bonnie, the two women left the room. Devon sat down in the chair  
next to Michael's. Silently, he reached over and covered his friend's  
shaking hand, still gripping the paper, with his own. The  
uncharacteristic gesture took Michael by surprise, and he lifted his  
head.  
"He told you?" he asked incredulously.  
"No. I've never to spoken to Kitt about this. Alice sent that to me,  
just after Kitt destroyed her computer."  
Michael took a deep breath. "I'm sorry, I haven't had much sleep, and  
these past few weeks...."  
"There's no need for apologies. I should be the one saying sorry.  
Maybe, if I'd have told you at the time, or had the courage to talk to  
Kitt myself, we wouldn't be going through this right now."  
  
Michael nodded, looking back down at the picture. "You remember that  
trouble we had, with Zachary?"  
Devon nodded, "Yes, I do."  
"When they had Kitt in the truck, and they ordered me to shut him down,  
I felt like... like they asking me to kill him. I couldn't do it, I had  
to tell Kitt to do it - I had to order him to do it. I never felt so  
hateful, or so lonely in my whole life. I watched the scanner die and I  
wanted to scream. Afterwards, he told me that deactivation was like  
being in a cold room, blind, deaf and dumb. Being aware, but unable to  
move or speak, or feel.... He sounded really scared as he described it  
to me. It was the first time I'd heard him sound that way. He asked  
me if KARR had been kept in that state, and I told him I honestly didn't  
know. He made me swear to him, that if it ever came to his being...  
permanently deactivated, that I would ensure his CPU was blown, that I  
would make sure that he didn't spend eternity in that state of  
suspension." He let the picture fall between his knees, out of sight  
yet still clasped in the fingers of the hand still covered by Devon's.  
He stared blankly at the wrinkled skin against his own. "It was the  
first time that I truly realized how deeply he did feel. I guess, up  
until that point I still saw him as a machine, of sorts. But at that  
moment, when he made me make that promise to him, I knew just how  
responsible I was going to be for him, for the rest of my life. And I  
felt... I felt like I would never be lonely again. I felt like a new  
parent."  
In a voice that was barely a whisper, Devon asked, "What are you  
feeling now?"  
"I feel like someone has violated my child, and I want to kill her."  
"I think that's how we're all feeling. But dear boy, that's not what  
Kitt needs." Michael looked up at that, straight into Devon's caring  
eyes. "He needs your strength now, to get him through this. I can make  
sure Alice is charged with _something_, but you and Kitt need to find  
her. He needs you with him, he needs your blind optimism that together,  
you could take on the world. You've always given that to him, don't  
stop now."  
  
Michael nodded, and Devon sat back, moving his hand from Michael's,  
only to have Michael stop him. "Thank you, for everything."  
The older man nodded, smiling. "I'll always look after you, Michael,  
you should know that by now."  
  



	4. The Angel You Know

Four - The Angel You Know  
  
There had always been the fun times. Even in their darkest hours,  
Michael and Kitt had usually been able to share a private joke. One of  
many. There had rarely been hours darker than the ones they had faced  
recently. Yet, in the driveway outside, Michael and Kitt were trying to  
shower each other with the bubbles in the water that was supposed to be  
going on the car. From what Bonnie could see, from the window of  
Devon's office, Michael looked as if he was losing.  
  
After Ella's revelation of Alice's attack on Kitt, the two partners had  
spent several hours up at the guest lodge, Kitt talking, Michael  
listening. While they were up there, Bonnie and Ella logged back into  
Foothills with Clay's login, but Alice was nowhere to be to found, and  
Bonnie guessed that Clay had already warned her off. Despite Michael  
assurances to his partner that they would catch her, they were unsure  
where to start looking.  
  
Laughing hysterically, Michael made a last-ditch effort to actually get  
some water on the car. He took a running jump up onto the hood as Kitt  
span his wheels and tried to get enough traction in the gravel to  
reverse. Michael landed on his knees, sliding almost up against the  
windshield, bucket in hands and emptying the remainder of the soapy  
water over the glass.  
"Ha!" He announced triumphantly. "Got ya!" He moved his legs out  
from under him and sat back on the hood, almost breathless, leaning  
against the wet windshield, still laughing.  
  
Bonnie felt the hand on her shoulder before she realized that Devon was  
off the phone and standing behind her. "I feel all warm inside," she  
told him quietly.  
"They do have that effect on one, don't they?" Devon was smiling.  
"Who'd have guessed that this would develop out of their first meeting."  
  
Bonnie remembered the scene well. "I'd never have imagined they'd  
become this close."  
"And I'd have never imagined that you and Michael would become this  
close."  
Bonnie turned her head quickly, but Devon was smiling. "You don't have  
to keep it from me, Bonnie. You're both adults, and," he nodded to the  
two outside, "you both have a lot in common." He lingered for a moment,  
watching Michael who was still sitting on the car, saying something to  
his partner. It was an image Devon needed, to replace the one that had  
haunted him since he had shown it to Michael a couple of days ago.  
Slowly, he moved away from the window, going to sit back behind his  
desk.  
  
Bonnie's gaze followed him. "What did they say?"  
"No one seems to know who she is. Mr. Marsh gave me one or two names,  
but I can't seem to trace them either. It's as if she only exists...."  
Devon's words faded out as a look of sudden realization crossed his  
features.  
"What?"  
"It's as if she only exists as a computer. Bonnie, maybe Alice isn't a  
person."  
"Devon, what are you talking about?"  
"Michael said yesterday that despite the number of people attacked by  
Alice, no one knows who she is. He pointed out that she had always  
moved on, people had only encountered her for a few days, and then  
nothing. Not one person we've spoken to told us that she had attacked  
them in any other way, no phone calls, no spoken messages, no packages,  
just the online stuff. And yet she attacked Kitt until he fought back,  
and then years later staged the attack on the car to try to kill him."  
"You seriously think Alice is a computer?!" Bonnie's expression was  
incredulous. "Devon that's preposterous!"  
Suddenly he was on his feet. "Why? Why should we believe that Kitt's  
the only advanced AI machine...?" He stopped again, but this time,  
Bonnie knew the thought that had arrived in Devon's head.  
"No, this isn't his style. Besides... from what Ella described, it  
took real malice to do what was done to Kitt. KARR always preferred  
straight violence. Besides, he's in little pieces, in a box in the  
lab."  
"Yes, of course you're right. But can you see what I'm getting at?"  
He learned forward, palms flat on his desk. "We created KARR, and we  
have Kitt, what's to stop someone else making the same leap?"  
  
Bonnie thought about it for a while, but it just did not sit well with  
her. "What would a computer with Kitt's intelligence be used for?"  
Devon smiled, "My dear, ours is outside being used for target practice  
with a sponge."  
"I know, but that's different."  
"Why? Are we naive to think that we're the only ones who could have  
done this?"  
Bonnie looked back outside, to where Michael was shielding his face  
from the jet sprays that were supposed to be Kitt's windshield washers.  
Could it really be that Kitt was no longer one of a kind? She was still  
unconvinced. "If there was another computer as intelligent, as advanced  
as Kitt, then why hasn't somebody heard about it. I mean, we try our  
best to keep Kitt quiet, but hundreds of people know of him, somehow.  
It's not as if he keeps himself to himself, is it? Wouldn't a similar  
intelligence have similar fame?"  
"I don't know. Kitt's our only frame of reference, and while I am sure  
that there's nothing quite like him, there's no reason to think that  
he's alone." His gaze followed Bonnie's, to where Michael was up on his  
knees, hands pressed down against the two pinholes in the hood, trying  
to stop the water.  
Bonnie sighed to herself, "That windshield wash is one of the most  
expensive in the country and look at them. Michael can buy the next  
bottle."  
  
She turned back to Devon who had returned to staring at her, waiting  
for acceptance of his theory. "If Alice was a computer, surely Kitt  
would have known. After all, he destroyed a computer when he caught  
her."  
Devon took that in. "So maybe Alice is on a network, an entire system,  
maybe a central operating system somewhere."  
"Devon, that just doesn't happen. It's not possible."  
He moved to sit on the edge of the desk. "A great many people have  
said the same thing about our little miracle out there."  
  
There was a splash, and a surprised shout from outside. They both  
turned back to the window in time to see Michael stand up at the edge of  
the fishpond that was in the centre of the driveway. Kitt was nose up  
to the low stone wall, and Devon shook his head as Michael launched  
himself bodily at the car, landing knees-first on the hood and  
splattering the glass with dirty water.  
"_Now_ you'll want a wash," they heard Michael say through his  
laughter. Kitt backed up, but Michael held on lightly, deeply safe in  
the knowledge that Kitt would never do anything to harm him.  
  
"If you're right," Bonnie said quietly, "this new computer has a very  
different attitude to life from Kitt."  
  
**  
  
They had traced the machine address that Kitt had discovered, to a PC  
in an Internet cafe in LA. Ella had driven over that morning,  
reassuring Devon and Bonnie that she knew the place, and was known  
there. There would be nothing suspicious about her talking to the staff  
and customers. The last thing they wanted to do was scare Alice from  
the place that was their only lead.  
  
The only person on line when Ella arrived around lunch-time, was Mick.  
A friend of hers, she had never been sure if he actually ever left, or  
if he did, where he went. He waved as she ordered a Cappuccino and  
pulled up a stool next to him, smiling when she found him surfing the  
Star Trek web pages. "Nothing changes, eh, Mick?"  
"Well maybe you do, El, haven't seen you around for a couple of weeks."  
  
"I had a site visit. Turned it into a vacation while I was there."  
She sipped at her drink, trying to find some coffee through the froth.  
"So, what's new?"  
Mick shrugged. "Nothing really, same old crowd."  
"No one new then?"  
Mick skim-read the 'Deep Space Nine' page in front of him, before  
clicking on the next link. "There has been this woman in here, you may  
remember her, she starting coming in just before you disappeared."  
"I was working late a lot. Describe her."  
"She's not from around her, further south I'd have said. Blonde hair  
cut quite short, average height. Pretty face, not beautiful, but more  
natural than most of the women in this town."  
"A name?"  
"Don't know. What do names mean around here, anyway? I'm not even  
sure if Mick is my real name!" He indicated the counter, and Burt, the  
proprietor of the cafe. "She never spoke to anyone but Burt. But I  
don't think she said much more than ordering coffee." He looked at her,  
and finally turned, giving her his full attention. "You seem different,  
Ella. What's going on?"  
"Too much." She pushed her fingers through her hair. It seemed  
strange to be back here, almost as if it was not where she belonged  
anymore. "Mick, you've my cellphone number, if she comes in again,  
could you call me."  
He smiled. "Not that it'll sound at all suspicious."  
Ella thought about that, and had an idea. "Okay," she grabbed the pen  
from behind Mick's ear, and held his hand, palm up. "Mail me here, but  
don't show anyone this addy." She hesitated with the pen just over his  
skin, meeting his confused eyes with her own serious stare. "Promise  
me."  
"I promise, Ella."  
On his palm, she wrote, 'kitt@indigo.com'.  
He read what she had put, and grabbed her hand as she reached up to put  
the pen back. "What are you involved with, El?"  
"I can't tell you, I'm sorry."  
"When I told you to live a little, I didn't think you'd listen!" She  
smiled, taking her hand back. "Just be careful."  
Ella nodded. "Don't worry about me."  
She stood up and put the chair back. "You can have the coffee, I've  
had quite a bit of it lately."  
Mick laughed. "So what else is new?"  
  
Ella drove back into the estate by nightfall. She had phoned ahead,  
telling Devon that someone had started using the cafe at roughly the  
same time of the attack, but it was not conclusive and whoever it had  
been had not returned there today. The delicate strains of early  
Genesis filled the car as she drove. Something Mick had said had been  
bugging her for the whole journey.  
'What do names mean around here, anyway?'  
They had assumed that 'Alice' was this person's real name, but why  
should it be? Personally, she always went online using a pseudonym. It  
might not even have been a woman, although from what she had seen, she  
was fairly convinced that it was. Still, her real name could be  
anything. And so many people used the cafe, the woman Mick had told her  
about could have been anyone, someone who caught his eye because she was  
pretty. Mick had never really been much of a Hollywood guy anyway;  
girls who turned his head usually were from out of town. It meant  
nothing.  
  
Ella sighed deeply as she turned off the highway. Why did it feel as  
if she was going home, when her home was the place from which she had  
just come. She absently wondered what her boss would do if she  
over-stretched her six weeks of owed vacation. Nothing, probably, as  
long as she went back eventually. She was one of the best in her field,  
and her boss knew it.  
  
The estate was quiet as she swung the car into the driveway and parked  
off to one side of the mansion. She had presumed that everyone had  
already turned in for the night, but as she climbed out of the car, she  
could hear quiet voices in the warm night air. One of them caused her  
heart to start beating just a little bit faster. Silently, she went  
around the back of the house, and stood on the patio, looking out over  
the grounds. Down towards the end of the lawn, just before the woodland  
began, she could make out Kitt's sleek form in the moonlight. The  
second voice she had heard had been Michael's, so she guessed that it  
was he who was sitting up on the hood of the car. Next to him, she  
could just make out a bottle. It looked as if Devon's cellar had been  
raided once again.  
  
Ella seated herself on the wide, low wall that hemmed in the patio,  
leaning up against a corner post; the stone cool against her back. She  
could not quite catch what was being said, but then she would not have  
stayed out there if she could have done. She did not want to eavesdrop,  
she just wanted to admire him, to know he was nearby and to revel in the  
warmth she felt whenever she thought about him.  
  
Unaware of Ella's presence, Michael sipped at the vintage wine. They  
had come out here several hours ago, and Michael had sat in the car and  
listened while his partner described the nightmare of Alice's attacks.  
It had taken all day for Kitt to finally open up to him. They had  
played together, as they had not played in too long. Michael had seen  
it at the time as belated therapy for his partner, but as he had heard  
everything Kitt had to say, he realized that he had needed the time too,  
more than he had known. Now he was sitting cross-legged on the warm  
hood, simply enjoying his partner's company. He had almost forgotten  
how good it felt just to be with Kitt, the deep feelings of safety that  
the car had always stirred within him, the wonderful rapport that had  
quickly developed between them.  
  
Kitt's presence had always reassured and comforted him. Ever since the  
day Bonnie had strapped the comlink around his wrist he had not ever  
been alone, and sometimes he felt he was high on just that feeling. He  
had always felt that the comlink joined him to Kitt, even when they were  
separated. And of course when Avril had abducted his partner. Kitt had  
spoken briefly about that this evening, but he had not said much. The  
memories, he had told Michael, were too painful to cope with. Best that  
they just stay hidden, buried at the back of his long-term storage.  
  
Finally, after spending the day with his partner, Michael felt able to  
face his job once more. The attack had affected him more than he had at  
first believed, because he had come closer than ever before to losing  
Kitt, and that had scared him more than anything else could have. When  
Wilton Knight had plucked him from death at the roadside, his blood had  
been on the headlights of his previous car. He had seen too many people  
die, and maybe, at that moment, through the excruciating pain and the  
fire along his nerves, he had been fleetingly glad that it was all  
over. He had only allowed himself to keep Kitt because he had believed  
then that there was no way he could become emotionally involved with the  
computer. He had been wrong. Very, very wrong. Together they had  
faced frightening situations with terrifying courage. And somewhere  
along the line, they had become inseparable.  
  
The responsibility that Michael felt for Kitt was not so much to watch  
his back, as it had been for his previous partners. It was simply to be  
there, and to ensure Kitt was treated with respect and care, by everyone  
who was supposed to be responsible for him. Kitt's life, as all life,  
was unique and had to be protected. They continued to charge headlong  
into situations that could end in disaster. But ninety-nine times out  
of a hundred, they did not, and when they did, he and Kitt still seemed  
to have a guardian angel watching over them.  
Idly, Michael dropped his hand to the scanner track, gently rubbing his  
fingers back and forth across the dark panel. Kitt gave the red light a  
single sweep, and Michael laughed quietly. "You okay there pal?"  
"Perfectly, Michael."  
  
Ella sat for about an hour, before dropping down off the wall and  
starting over towards the pair. She just wanted to say goodnight. As  
she approached the car, Kitt's scanner lit up, and Michael knew there  
was someone coming. He turned his head, not surprised to see Ella  
walking uncertainly towards them. He smiled, patted the hood, and waved  
her over. "Glass of wine?"  
Ella smiled at seeing a second, empty glass on the lawn beside the  
car. Bonnie had obviously been here at one point. "I don't want to  
interrupt."  
Kitt spoke up, "You're not interrupting. Please." Michael waited for  
her to nod her assent, and then leant down to retrieve the glass,  
shifting up to make room for her on the hood.  
"Missed you, Kitt." Ella told him truthfully.  
"I missed you too." Michael's eyebrows rose at the gentle, sincere  
tone of his partner's voice, but he said nothing. She sat up on the  
hood, next to Michael, side-on to the windshield. As Michael poured,  
she placed her hand flat against the warm body-work of the car, and  
stroked softly. She allowed a sigh of contentment to pass her lips.  
Feeling as though this was where she belonged, she leaned slowly against  
the glass, hooking her arm across the top of the car.  
  
Kitt monitored her every move, her every touch. Never had he wanted to  
be so physically close to someone so desperately. Being with Michael  
was what made his life complete and worth while. But Ella's presence  
satisfied something within him that he had not quite been aware of until  
he had met her. He realized, as he watched her, that although she was  
accepting the invitation, and the drink, from Michael, she was there  
with _him_, leaning close to _him_. Like no one ever had before.  
  
Ella took the glass from Michael's fingers and thanked him.  
"How was L.A.?" Kitt asked her, before Michael could get a word out.  
She turned to look into the car through the windshield. "It was  
strange to be back there."  
"Did you find anything?" Michael asked her, because something told him  
that Kitt would not.  
"I called Devon earlier, did he tell you?"  
Michael shook his head. "We've been out here."  
She told him what she had told his boss that afternoon, about Mick, and  
the girl that he had described. "But I was thinking, on the way back,  
that her name probably isn't even Alice." She read Michael's confused  
expression. "People who spend a lot of time on line usually have  
aliases, names they go by, like truckers have handles. It's very likely  
that 'Alice' is just a pseudonym. I'm sorry, I know that's the only  
lead we've got, but it struck me on the way back, something Mick said."  
Michael thought about this latest piece of bad news. "It's the perfect  
hiding place, isn't it? The Internet."  
Ella nodded. "I wish I had something more for you both."  
  
They sat in a companionable silence for a few minutes, Ella and Michael  
sipping at the exquisite wine, while Kitt simply enjoyed feeling her  
body against him. As she looked over at Michael to say something, Ella  
caught a glimpse of gold against his shirt. She reached out and  
carefully lifted the small medallion that hung from a thin gold chain  
around his neck. In the moonlight she could see the intricate St.  
Christopher design.  
"It's beautiful," she whispered.  
Michael smiled. "A Christmas present last year."  
She was about to ask 'from whom?' when she turned the pendant over in  
her fingers, and read the simple inscription: 'always, Kitt.'  
She looked up into Michael's eyes and saw the pride and love that was  
shining there. No one could ever doubt his feelings for his partner.  
She smiled and returned her attention to the written words. Seeing the  
name spelled out before her, she realized that it was written as a word,  
rather than an acronym. "When did Kitt become his name?" She asked  
gently.  
"I don't know," Michael looked down at the medallion between her  
fingers. "It happened very naturally. I guess it just felt right.  
He's been more than just a machine for a long time. Machines have  
acronyms, people have names."  
Kitt swept the scanner light back and forth across its track in  
contentment.  
  
Above them, the stars were bright, and the full moon illuminated the  
estate in an almost super-natural glow. Michael finished his drink, and  
placed the glass, and the bottle, back on to the lawn. Then he reached  
over and put a gentle hand on Ella's arm. "Thank you...."  
She shrugged, "It was the least I could do, and it was good to see Mick  
again, I know he worries even if he doesn't say it."  
"But not just for today, for everything. I know you have... other  
reasons for being here," he glanced inside the car and smiled when he  
heard a single sweep of Kitt's scanner. "But you've done a lot for us  
all. I appreciate it, and I know Bonnie and Devon do too."  
"Thank you."  
He smiled, and slid down off the hood. "And as for Kitt... well I  
think he'd appreciate it if I made myself scarce."  
"Michael...." Kitt found he did not really want to stop Michael from  
leaving, but this had been their day together, and a lot had passed  
between them.  
"It's all right, Pal. Beep me, okay."  
"Okay."  
  
Michael threw her a stunning smile, and started off back to the  
mansion. Ella too slipped off the car, and moved around to snuggle  
herself into the driver's seat. "Hi Sexy," she said quietly.  
Kitt waited a beat before speaking. "Ella, could I ask you  
something... personal?"  
"Of course you can." She wanted to add more, but as she played words  
around in her head, nothing sounded right, so she left it at that.  
"Do I..." he faltered, embarrassed now that it was Ella he was talking  
to. He tried again. "When you're with me, do you feel...." Another  
failure. But Ella had picked up easily on what he was trying to ask.  
She grinned.  
"You're trying to ask me if you excite me?"  
"Yes."  
"Yes. you do."  
Kitt was stunned. "Honestly?"  
"Honestly. Everything about you.... Mostly your voice, the things you  
say, and the way you say them, your accent.... It's very sexy."  
Although he had asked the question, Kitt was unsure how to proceed.  
This was all new to him, and he found himself frightened of making a  
mistake, of saying something that would put Ella off. "I take it you  
weren't expecting that answer?"  
"No, I wasn't. I always believed it to be impossible for a person to  
have... the feelings for me that you seem to have. I never even  
considered it. But when I'm with you, I feel things that are...  
unfamiliar to me."  
"Are they bad feelings?"  
"No, but some are frightening," he admitted.  
"You don't have to worry, Kitt. I don't want to frighten you, I want  
you to be able to relax with me. I don't get insulted easily, and if  
you say something wrong, I'll tell you long before I walk away." She  
reached a hand out to the voice panel, stroking one finger down it  
gently. "I understand how difficult this must be for you. I would just  
like you to enjoy my company as much as I enjoy yours."  
"I do, Ella. You have no idea."  
"So tell me. Make me realize how you feel."  
  
Kitt tried to find the right thing to say to describe his feelings to  
her, and when he could not, he searched for an alternative. He took off  
the hand-brake, allowing the car to roll slowly down the slight incline  
to the first tree of the woodland. They stopped in front of it, and he  
activated his laser, toning the power down to a bare minimum, and fired,  
directing the beam at the thick tree trunk in front of him. Ella peered  
out of the windshield, fascinated. When Kitt had finished, he  
deactivated the laser and switched on the front spots, illuminating the  
trunk for Ella to read what he had put there. As her eyes adjusted to  
the light, Ella could see, in perfect script, three words carved lightly  
into the wood. It said simply, 'I love you'.  
  
**  
  
Michael sat in the lounge, draped over the sofa, with Bonnie lying in  
his arms. He could not remember the last time he had felt this  
comfortable. He nuzzled his face into Bonnie's hair.  
"I watched you and Kitt this afternoon," she murmured quietly, enjoying  
the feel of his strong body next to hers. "I wish I'd had the camera."  
"Umm, I'm glad you didn't. Devon really does have to get the pond  
cleaned out." He felt, rather than heard her chuckle. "Bon, do you  
think this thing with Ella and Kitt is... odd?"  
She turned her head to look at him, as he brushed her hair away from  
his face, breathing her in. "No. I think they're both going to end up  
getting hurt, but that's a risk I think they both feel is worth taking."  
  
"You don't think her attraction to him is slightly... out of the  
ordinary."  
"Absolutely not. Why?"  
"Well.... He's a car. He's my car."  
"If he heard you saying that...."  
"Bonnie, you know how I feel about him, but a friendship is one thing.  
Ella being attracted to him... in that way, is something entirely  
different."  
"It's how she feels."  
Michael faltered. "But... he has no... arms. Or legs. Or anything."  
Bonnie could not help but laugh. "And men accuse women of being  
shallow." She sat up slightly. "You're not thinking about arms and  
legs!"  
"Okay, so you know what I'm getting at."  
She attempted her best innocent look. "I haven't got a clue what  
you're referring to."  
Michael glared at her. "They won't be able to... do anything. Kiss,  
or hold hands...."  
"Or have sex."  
His eyes widened for a moment, before he looked away. "Yes. That  
too."  
"Michael, I think it's up to them to make the best of what they feel  
for each other. She loves him very much. And I believe Kitt is very  
fond of her."  
"He is. He's also very confused about it all."  
Bonnie shrugged, settling back down again. "They'll work it out."  
"I never imagined I'd be talking to a computer about the birds and the  
bees."  
She smiled. "I'd really love to overhear that conversation."  
  
A warm quiet fell over them. Michael gazed around the room,  
remembering what Ella had said about the photos. He knew Bonnie carried  
one of him and Kitt. He did not tend to carry things like that, things  
that could be used against him. He did not like to think that his  
friends' lives were ever in danger because of what they did here. If he  
was caught, it was just he and Kitt, and although some had tried to use  
Kitt to get to him, eventually they had all failed. Kitt could look  
after them both, he did not have to worry about that. His eyes fell on  
the picture of the team of engineers, taken several years ago.  
  
Suddenly, he was up on his feet, surprising Bonnie. "What is it?"  
Michael walked towards the photo, his face going white. Bonnie followed  
him, concerned. "What did I say?"  
"Nothing, it was something Ella said."  
Bonnie looked at him. "What are you talking about?"  
He stopped in front of the picture, staring at it. "She said that her  
friend in LA had described a woman to her, a woman who had started using  
the Internet cafe just before Ella had been called to Canada, just  
before the attack on Kitt."  
"Yes, so?"  
"So, he described her as average height, short blonde hair, pretty  
face." He pointed at someone in the photo and turned to Bonnie.  
"Remind you of someone?"  
Bonnie's face turned ashen as she looked at the picture. Michael's  
finger was resting on Avril's smiling face.  
  
**  
  
Kitt came to rest just outside the guest lodge. It was shaded here by  
trees, and the moonlight was not so bright. "You don't have to stay,"  
he said quietly.  
But Ella smiled. "I want to. I just want to be with you."  
Ella settled back in the seat and closed her eyes. Suddenly, there was  
a noise at the window. She sat up and turned, stopped by the sight that  
greeted her. Michael and Bonnie were outside, holding a framed  
photograph up to the windshield. Ella squinted in the dim light, but  
she could make out that it was the group photo from the wall of the  
lounge. She opened the door, and frowned up at them both. "Why?"  
"The description of the woman, that Mick gave you."  
"What about it? Michael, I told you, it could be anyone."  
"But it isn't. It's Avril."  
Ella felt her heart skip a beat. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw  
the LEDs jump on Kitt's voice panel, but no sound came out. "It's okay,  
Kitt," she told him gently. "It's okay."  
  
**  
  
Devon put the phone down slowly. "I have an address." Michael was on  
his feet immediately, but Devon held up a warning hand. "I think we  
ought to let the police handle this one."  
"No," he was shaking his head, fresh anger clear in his eyes. "Devon,  
this one is ours."  
"Michael, we all feel the same way about this woman, she hurt us all.  
We're all too involved."  
"Devon, she's a murderer."  
"Now, Michael, she paid for what she did in Las Vegas."  
"She didn't pay! She was released from jail after four years! A man  
died, and Kitt's sentenced to his whole life with the memory of what she  
did, of what her actions lead to. The woman had her own father fire  
anti-tank missiles at us! If it hadn't been for Kitt, I wouldn't be  
here. You have to let me take this one!"  
As Michael tried to press his point, the door opened, and both Ella and  
Bonnie practically ran inside. Devon looked up, slightly annoyed at the  
interruption. "What is it?"  
"There's no use arguing over whose catch it is," Bonnie told them.  
"Kitt must have intercepted your phone call, he's gone."  
Michael spun, going to the window and looking out into the moonlit  
drive. "What do you mean 'gone'?" He turned back to the women. "Gone  
where?"  
"One guess."  
Devon put a hand to his mouth. "He wouldn't."  
"Avril's done her best to hurt him. He just wants it over with, he  
wants things back to normal."  
"But he wouldn't hurt her." Devon sounded if he was trying to convince  
himself.  
"No," Michael tried to assure him, slightly unsure himself. "I need  
that address, Devon." Immediately, the older man handed him the piece  
of paper. "And I guess I need a car." He glanced down at the address,  
relieved that it was not far. Kitt had an edge over any car that Devon  
could give him. A fantastic edge of about 200mph.  
  
As he drove, he worried. Michael could see, in his mind's eye, the  
destruction he had seen in the aftermath of test program the  
Foundation's board had, in their wisdom, chosen to run on Kitt. He was  
certain that his partner would not hurt Avril, he was more worried about  
what effect she could have on him. But there was a reason Kitt had  
taken off without him, he had only done that once or twice before, and  
he had had a good reason each time. Avril had hurt him more than any  
other single person ever had, and now he realized that she was 'Alice',  
God knew what was going through his complicated mind. He floored the  
accelerator, hoping to at least get within comlink range before Kitt  
reached the address Devon had given him.  
  
Finally, he got a signal, and Kitt's voice came over the link.  
"Michael, are you all right?"  
"I'm fine, Kitt. How are you doing?"  
"I just want to talk to her, Michael, to find out why."  
"We could have done this together, Kitt. Remember everything we said  
this afternoon?" He wrestled Devon's car around the tight bend.  
"Besides, after driving our car, anything else just isn't the same."  
The engine of the Convertible screamed in protest as Michael pushed it  
to its limits.  
"I'm sorry, Michael."  
Michael felt a dread settle into his soul. "Don't be sorry, Pal,  
please. Just pull over and wait for me, we'll handle this together."  
"It's my fight." But despite Kitt's words, there was a sadness in his  
tone that Michael thought he just might be able to work with, if he knew  
Kitt well enough....  
"You don't want to do this alone, you know you don't. Avril hurt us  
all. Let's end this legally."  
"Michael, we've no evidence. Nothing's going to happen to her. There  
is no way that Clay will testify against his own daughter, he would take  
the blame for it himself rather than see her go back to prison. You  
know I'm right."  
*Shit*. Michael knew Kitt was right. They had nothing to charge her  
with. They had no proof that would connect her with the attack, and  
there was nothing illegal about sending email. "Kitt, this isn't the  
way, please listen to me. Don't do anything stupid."  
"She's going to walk away from this, despite everything we know she's  
guilty of. I doubt the police will even have sufficient reason to  
arrest her."  
"I understand how you feel, but we will find something, we'll find a  
way, we always do. I know that you feel you want her to hurt as much as  
you have, and if she'd done to me what she did to you, I'd want to kill  
her. But it isn't the way."  
"Michael...." There was a dangerous tone to his voice, but Michael  
knew he was getting somewhere.  
"Kitt, listen to me. If you hurt her, they'll take you away from me,  
and I can't face that."  
Silence. Then, somehow, Michael knew that Kitt was slowing down.  
"I'll wait for you."  
  
Michael pulled Devon's car over to the side of the road, just behind  
Kitt's bumper. He activated the homing signal, an extra Knight  
Industries security measure, and locked the car; knowing Devon would  
retrieve it eventually. He climbed into Kitt's driver's seat feeling  
nothing but relief. "We'll get her on something, Kitt, I promise you."  
"I'm sorry."  
"Don't be. I do understand the need for revenge, Pal. But there's  
always a better way, even if you can't see it right now."  
Michael eased the car from the roadside, and continued in the direction  
of the address. "We're just gonna talk to her, okay?"  
"Okay."  
  
Back at the Foundation, in the small office off Devon's, Bonnie heaved  
a sigh of relief as she sat back. Beside her, Ella watched the small  
blinking light on the computer monitor. "What? What's happened?"  
"Michael's activated the Convertible's homing signal."  
"So?"  
"It means he's left it on the roadside somewhere, I would guess that  
he's managed to talk Kitt into waiting for him."  
Ella closed her eyes, "Thank God for that."  
In the doorway behind them, Devon was looking worried. "Bonnie, what  
do you think Kitt would have done to her?"  
Bonnie looked around, and with an expression Ella would never know how  
she held, she told him, "Nothing, Devon. I think he just felt he should  
talk to her alone, after all, what she did to him was personal."  
Devon frowned, not totally convinced. "You're sure?"  
"Yes."  
Finally, Devon seemed to accept her explanation, and moved back into  
the other room. Bonnie and Ella exchanged glances, and Ella shook her  
head. "He could have killed her." Ella whispered.  
And Bonnie nodded. "I know. But he wouldn't have."  
"How can you be so sure?"  
"Because after she abducted him, and used him to kill a man in Vegas,  
and then to try to kill Michael. The Foundation's board had a test  
program run through Kitt's systems, over and over again, until he  
snapped and destroyed the inside of the garage they were keeping him  
in."  
Ella's eyes widened. "What kind of program?"  
"They showed him, over and over again, what it would have been like if  
he hadn't have stopped at Michael's feet."  
  
**  
  
The house stood alone, slightly back from the road, in what looked to  
be a quiet neighbourhood. Michael was not sure what he had been  
expecting, but he knew for certain that this definitely was not it.  
"Kitt, scan the house."  
"What am I looking for?"  
"People."  
"There's only one person in the house, in the kitchen as far as I can  
make out."  
Michael thought for a moment, then he reached for the door. "Kitt, I'm  
just going to talk to her."  
"You can't honestly believe that she'll just confess."  
"I don't believe anything of the sort. But she might say something we  
can use, so I want you to record the conversation."  
"That'll be the easy part, Michael."  
"I know, Kitt. I know."  
  
He closed the door quietly, and trailed his fingers over the car as he  
walked around the front to the path up to the front door. Kitt's  
scanner tracked madly, following Michael's every movement and accepting  
his touch for the understanding and encouragement it was meant to be.  
  
Michael knocked on the door and waited. Seconds later, it opened, and  
Avril Stone stood before him and smiled. He fought down his anger,  
thanking god that he had managed to reach Kitt. "Hi Avril."  
"Michael, this is a pleasant surprise," she seemed genuinely glad to  
see him, and Michael felt a shiver run down his spine. "Come in,  
please."  
Michael glanced back at his car as he stepped into the house; he could  
practically feel Kitt's anxiety. He wished there were something he  
could do to settle him, but for now, they would just have to play this  
by ear.  
  
"Please, sit down. Can I get you a drink?"  
Michael remained on his feet. "You can't honestly think that I came  
here to exchange pleasantries. After what you did...."  
"I went to jail for what I did, Michael." She was still smiling, still  
relaxed, as if they were old friends. It was like facing a crocodile.  
"I changed while in was in jail. I realized what terrible things I'd  
done, and I repented for them, that's why they let me out."  
"You may have fooled them, Avril, but I know you haven't changed." Now  
he chose to smile. "Or should that be, Alice?"  
Her expression changed to slight confusion. "Who's Alice?"  
"Don't play games with me."  
"Michael, I honestly don't know what you're talking about. I know how  
hard it must be, to see me free after so short a time. I really am  
sorry for what I did to you, Devon and Bonnie must hate me."  
"They're not the only ones." Avril looked away, and Michael felt the  
same confusion he had experienced when he had spoken to William Clay.  
"I spoke to your father."  
She met his eyes again, and Michael could have sworn that the fear and  
concern in her eyes was real. "Oh God.... I didn't tell him, I...  
couldn't face him. He's so proud of me, you see." She took a step  
forward. "Please, it would break his heart if he knew what I'd done."  
Michael frowned. "I didn't tell him." She sighed in relief, a small  
smile breaking through. "But I'm afraid Kitt might have let it slip."  
There was a flash, of what Michael interpreted as fury, across her  
features, and then she had control. "I'd... I'd better call him."  
  
Michael made his own way to the front door, stopping with his fingers  
on the handle. "I know you were behind the attack on Kitt and I a  
couple of weeks ago. And I know what you did to him as Alice. And I  
swear to you Avril, I will prove it."  
He opened the door and slammed it behind him, jogging down the steps to  
where Kitt was sitting, his engine fired. "How could she so blatantly  
deny it?" his partner asked him.  
"I dunno Kitt, but we've shaken her. Is there a call going out?"  
"No, Michael."  
"So I guess she lied about calling her father."  
"What now?"  
"Home, Kitt. We need to think about this."  
  
Avril watched the car leave from the window. She looked down, at the  
automatic weapon in her hand. She could not be sure whether or not they  
had any evidence, whether they had found Greg Fulman's body, whether  
they had identified him, or even whether they had tied him to her father  
yet. There had been no police round, so they evidently had not run a  
ballistics check on the bullet the autopsy would have pulled from his  
brain.  
  
So they knew she was Alice. She did wonder how they had worked that  
one out. But there was nothing they could do. Even if they made her  
confess to being Alice, what charges could they possibly bring against  
her? Sending 'distressing' images to a computer system? They had not  
even been pornographic, not in any way that a human eye would have  
recognized them as such. And there was no way that she was going down  
for the attack. Her father would take the heat for that one, if any  
heat was to be taken.  
  
So far they had nothing. And all she was going to give them was  
'wilful destruction of property'. A month, maximum. Maybe even just a  
fine, a couple of thousand dollars. He had once asked to know his  
worth. Well, soon he would.  
  
**  
  
Bonnie felt Michael lean gently against her as they sat on the steps of  
the patio, leading down into the grounds of the estate. Beside him, the  
sun was starting to rise. Neither had slept in nearly twenty-four  
hours, but Michael looked more confused and angry than tired. "I swear,  
Bonnie, I must be losing it. She sounded so for real, you know, but I  
have this gut feeling.... She knew exactly what I was talking about.  
Although something told me that she hadn't been totally truthful to Clay  
about her departure from the Foundation."  
"Maybe we could use that somehow. Maybe if you lean on Clay, tell him  
exactly what she did do, show him some pictures...." Michael could hear  
the anger growing in Bonnie's voice. "We can't let her get away with  
this."  
  
Michael put down his coffee and turned to her, taking her hands in  
his. "Bon, I love him and hurt for him as much as you do. And maybe,  
if they'd killed him, all I'd want is blood. But let's be honest about  
this. There is nothing we can pin on her, we have no evidence and Clay  
is not going to give her to us. He attacked us, not her. Even if we  
could prove that she asked him to do it, and she confessed to asking  
him, she wouldn't get very long."  
"I just can't believe that we do so much here, fight and win cases that  
others have found practically impossible to crack, and still we can't  
look after our own."  
"It's because Kitt isn't human, there are no laws that protect him from  
people like Avril."  
"Then we should be able to."  
Michael shook his head, gathering her into his arms as exhaustion  
finally took its toll. He rocked her gently, placing kisses in her  
hair. After a short while, she gently pushed him back and looked up  
into those deep blue eyes. "Promise me you'll think of something."  
"I promise you that I'll try."  
  
In the darkness of the garage, Kitt knew she was there before he had  
activated any higher functions. He watched her silently for a short  
while. She was sitting on one of the workbenches, a large automatic  
weapon held in one hand, barrel lying on the palm of the other, cradling  
it. He quickly quashed the urge to beep Michael. He reasoned that she  
could shoot him before he had a chance to warn him. Or maybe that was  
just an excuse. He wanted to talk to her alone. He had wanted to  
earlier, but Michael's plea had stopped him. Now she had come to him.  
Finally, he activated the scanner, setting it into a gentle sweeping,  
back and forth.  
  
In his usual, friendly, trusting tone, he greeted her. "Hello, Avril."  
  
"Hello, Kitt."  
He added suspicion into the mixture. "What are you doing here?"  
"To finish what I started. To do what my father failed to do with all  
his expensive weaponry." She smiled. "I like the new look, Kitt, it  
suits you."  
"Why are you doing this?"  
"You have no idea, have you?" Avril smiled. "When I first met you, I  
fell in love with you. It's that simple. And as time went on, I  
realized that it could never possibly be right. You couldn't ever feel  
for me what I felt for you. You couldn't ever understand what I was  
going through. And I started to hate you for it, for being so fucking  
intelligent but not being able to see what was right in front of you."  
She sighed. "This thing with you and Michael.... It's weird. No human  
should ever be as close to a machine as he is to you. I wanted to try  
to make you see that your existence was wrong, that you didn't have a  
place here."  
"Is that why you used me to kill that man in Las Vegas?"  
Avril's eyes widened, and she actually laughed. "You really think I  
killed him because he wouldn't buy you? I knew he wouldn't deal, but I  
needed an excuse, a reason. I thought if I used you to kill once,  
maybe, just maybe, when the time came, I would have enough control over  
you to kill Michael."  
"But you failed."  
She shook her head. "No, Kitt, I didn't fail."  
Her words confused him. "But I didn't do what you wanted."  
"No, you didn't." She leaned down, closer to him, smiling like the  
Cheshire cat. "But here's the beauty of it; you still know, don't you?  
You still know what it would have been like to kill him, because they  
showed you over and over again. I wrote that test program, Kitt. I  
found it ironic that you showed them a miracle that afternoon, and they  
brought you back here, to where you're supposed to be safe, and they  
tried to destroy that miracle by forcing you through the one experience  
you'd managed to save yourself from."  
  
Kitt felt a shiver drive through his soul. Suddenly he did not want to  
talk to this woman. He switched off the vocal telemetry to the comlink,  
and shut down the connection, knowing that a warning would sound on  
Michael's link. It was one way of telling him to be careful. It took  
less than half a second. "Why do you hate me so much?"  
Avril jumped down from the workbench and walked over to the car,  
lightly trailing the barrel of the gun across the scanner track. "Love  
always turns to hate eventually."  
Kitt processed that. He thought about Ella, and what had obviously  
developed between them. He did not want to believe Avril; he was  
determined that this woman was not going to hurt him any more. "You're  
wrong."  
She laughed softly. "What would you know about it, Kitt? You'll never  
know."  
"But I do know. I have... someone. Someone I love. Someone who loves  
me. You never gave me a chance. I trusted you, maybe I could have  
loved you."  
Avril was shaking her head. "There is no way...."  
"I am capable of that emotion. Whether you believe it or not, it is  
true."  
"I don't believe you."  
"But the images, the things you showed me as 'Alice'.... Surely you  
must have thought they would hurt me, or why do it?"  
Avril sat down on the hood, legs dangling, one foot still on the floor,  
she continued to caress the scanner track with the tip of the gun; an  
action that was making Kitt very uncomfortable.  
"I've been doing that little trick since college. I just thought it  
might be fun with you. I did want to hurt you, but I wasn't sure if I  
would succeed. It took some doing, but prisons like it if you show  
willing to learn. I always liked computer classes. Although they  
weren't very happy when one of their systems crashed, destroyed by an  
outside virus." She toyed with the gun against the scanner track. "And  
neither was I. You were very thorough, I honestly hadn't realized quite  
how much I was hurting you."  
Kitt thought about her explanation. He had wanted to hear her explain  
her reasons. But he found what she had said to be unsatisfying. "Some  
of the images were very personal."  
His words fascinated her. "You saw everything I meant you to see,  
didn't you?"  
"You raped me." Her smile gave Kitt the urge to pull back. But he did  
not want to give her the satisfaction.  
"Yes. That's what I was trying to do. It's gratifying to know that I  
was right about how you perceive things. It's interesting to hear you  
use the word 'rape' though. I could ask you to go back through the  
images, show me the ones that brought you to that word."  
"I no longer have anything of what you sent me."  
Avril frowned. "But the backup storage.... They must have used it to  
revive you after the attack."  
"I told you, there is someone who loves me, I believe, very much. She  
is better than you are when it comes to computers." Kitt spoke the  
words as calmly as he had the rest of the conversation. But although he  
knew they would they would hit a nerve, he said them anyway. Avril  
remained silent, her anger building. She unclicked the safety from her  
weapon. "You might as well put the gun away, Avril. You can't shoot  
me, you know that."  
"I can't shoot you yet, Kitt." She took a deep, calming breath, and  
smiled. "Just be patient, the time will come."  
  
Michael stared at the comlink. He was depressing the 'talk' button,  
but Kitt was not responding. Yet the bleeping, not the same tone as  
usual, did not stop.  
"It's the warning signal," Bonnie remembered finally. "I think it  
means that Kitt has terminated telemetry."  
"You mean he's stopped monitoring me?"  
"I think so."  
"Why?" Michael was on his feet, heading around the house to the  
garage.  
"Michael, wait!" Bonnie grabbed his arm. "He wouldn't do that without  
a reason. He would know about the warning signal, maybe he's trying to  
tell you something."  
"So why doesn't he just say it?"  
Michael had pulled away and was starting over the grass to the main  
door of the garage. "Michael, don't!"  
But it had been a long day and he was tired. He opened the garage door  
and stopped in his tracks. Avril smiled up at him from her position on  
Kitt's hood. She waved him inside with the gun, and asked him to close  
the door. "What do you want, Avril?"  
"An ending." She stood up, taking a step back from the car. "I think  
Kitt and I have finally had time to understand each other. He knows,  
even if he doesn't fully comprehend, why I've done all I've done, and  
why I'm about to do this."  
  
Kitt suddenly realized that calling Michael had been a mistake. On his  
own he was safe, with Michael there, they were both in danger. The  
realization shocked him. He had endangered Michael's life by calling  
him. He had done the one thing that went against everything his  
programming stood for, just because he had not felt capable of dealing  
with Avril alone. Panic welled up inside his systems, threatening to  
overwhelm him. The greatest sadness he had ever experienced enveloped  
his soul. This was the end. Somewhere deep inside himself, he accepted  
his fate. But he was going to save Michael's life at all costs.  
"Avril, why hurt Michael when it's all about me? Let him go."  
"I'm hoping that I won't have to hurt him, Kitt. You do what I want,  
and I give you my word, he won't come to any harm. I promise you that  
he'll be quite able to give the eulogy at your graveside. I'm sure  
they'll give you a grave, I have this feeling."  
Michael stepped forward, unsure. "Avril...."  
"Shut up. I don't want to hear it." She turned to Kitt. "You see,  
the police will look on me destroying you, as... I think the correct  
term is 'wilful destruction of property', I believe I can get up to two  
months imprisonment, or a fine, maybe a couple of grand. That's about  
all you're worth." She aimed at Michael's head, taking a couple of  
steps towards him to ensure she would not miss. "Now, if I kill  
Michael, unfortunately it would be murder. I can't really frame a car,  
now can I? And I wouldn't really want to go back to jail for that  
long...." She spun on her heel and once again unclicked the safety.  
"... but I could live. Whichever way, Kitt, I effectively end your  
life. So what'll it be? It's your choice."  
  
Michael stared at her in horror, realization finally sinking in. "Kitt  
no! She's trying the same trick as her father, don't do it."  
Avril laughed. "My father couldn't shoot a pheasant! Believe me, he's  
not the type to pull a trigger himself. However, if you move a muscle,  
I will kill you." She sighed. "Decision time, Kitt."  
"All right Avril..." ("No Kitt....") "... we'll end this here. But  
just me."  
"Kitt!" Michael heard the soft click of the hood release, as Kitt gave  
her access to his CPU. "No!"  
"Michael, I'm sorry." Michael heard the tone of his partner's voice,  
and in a horrifying moment, he realized that Kitt had already given up.  
Anger flared within him, and he kicked out, aiming to connect with  
Avril's arm. But she was faster and more agile her father had been.  
She took a step back and fired, catching Michael in the shoulder and  
forcing a scream of pain from his throat. He wobbled on his feet,  
managed to stay upright, but the blood started to flow immediately, and  
that familiar feeling of nausea swept over him.  
"Michael!" Kitt's voice cut through the reverberation of the shot and  
the dizziness assaulting him. "Are you all right?"  
"Yeah, Kitt, I'm fine."  
  
Avril sighed. "Touching." She waved the gun in Michael's direction.  
"Backup. Against the wall. I know it's a cliche, but I need to take my  
eyes off you for one moment to put a bullet through your partner's  
brain." She watched Michael back up, he in turn watching her like a  
hawk. The pain in his face was obvious, but she doubted the cause was  
his wound. She smiled. "Shall we have some fun?"  
  
In one, unbelievably fast movement, she turned, aimed into the engine  
compartment open before her, and fired once, spinning back to Michael  
before he could move a step. In the moment after the bullet had been  
fired, both Kitt and Michael screamed. Michael screamed because it was  
the only thing he could do, desperate and helpless he could not believe  
he was watching as his partner was murdered before his eyes. Kitt  
screamed for a more basic reason. Avril's first bullet had blown a  
perceptor apart, and it hurt like hell. His first instinct was to slam  
the hood down, to save himself any more agony. But Michael's life was  
in the balance here, and there was no question about his priorities.  
  
"Kitt...." Tears were filling Michael's eyes. "Kitt...." He started  
to sway, feeling the wall come up to meet his back.  
"I'm all right...."  
"Not for long." In a second, in another fluid movement, Avril fired  
again, and for a moment, Kitt thought he was going to blank out. His  
whole network of perceptors seemed to be on fire, the data being sent  
was overwhelming and the pain was more excruciating than he would have  
ever believed he could experience. Other emotions came crashing down  
upon him, overloading his systems until he just wanted it all to stop.  
Helplessness and despair drained his remaining power as he fought to  
keep everything stable, shutting down sensors that were screaming at the  
overload. Through it all he could hold only one thought; that he had  
failed. That after everything they had been through together, Michael  
was going to die, and it was he who had called him to his executioner.  
  
Michael knew only that the bitch with the gun was toying with Kitt,  
hurting him as much as she could before finally ending his short life.  
Fury sparked his actions. He lashed out at her with his good arm,  
catching her wrist and knocking her off balance. But it was not  
enough. She fired at him, narrowly missing his neck, making the hole in  
his shoulder bigger. His vision began to fade, and he slumped to the  
floor, back against the wall. "Please..." he begged as a final resort,  
"don't...."  
"Michael...." There was choked desperation lacing Kitt's voice, making  
it sound as if he too were crying.  
"Kitt, don't let her do this. I need you."  
"I'm sorry...." Avril took another shot at Kitt, piercing a third  
perceptor. Kitt struggled to stop the onslaught into his CPU. That had  
been the fifth bullet. The next was going to kill him; he had no doubt  
about that. "Michael.... I'm sorry... so sorry...."  
"Kitt!! No!!!!"  
  
What happened next was a blur for both of them, as both started to lose  
consciousness. Michael heard a sixth shot, and closed his eyes, tears  
leaking from them even as he fought not to pass out. Kitt also heard  
the shot, but to his surprise, it was way off course, lodging in the  
corner of the ceiling. He fought to bring some sort of monitoring back  
on line, desperate to know what was happening. Avril found herself  
caught in an arm lock, her weapon wrenched from her hand, staring down  
the barrel of a handgun.  
  
Devon held Avril firmly as Ella forced herself to consider the horrible  
mess shooting her in the face would make. She had always been severely  
squeamish, even in first aid class. And it was the only thing keeping  
her from pulling the trigger. Bonnie knelt by Michael's bleeding form,  
concern written all over her face. He opened his eyes as she begged him  
to speak to her. "Michael, are you all right?"  
"Yeah...." He winced in pain, but he did not care about his own  
injuries. "Kitt...."  
Bonnie was over by her car in an instant, calling his name. She swore  
when she saw the damage three bullets had done. Miraculously none had  
hit the CPU casing. "Kitt! Answer me."  
There was nothing, and Michael shook his head, letting his tears of  
pain become sobs of agony. "No, please, no...."  
  
Ella handed the gun to Devon, who was quite happy to keep watch over  
Avril while Ella practised her first aid on Michael, stopping the  
bleeding and strapping him up as best she could. As she did so, so  
looked towards the car, tears forming in her own eyes. She could not  
believe what was happening. "Kitt! Don't do this to me! You  
bastard! Don't you leave me now!"  
Agonizingly slowly, the first light of the scanner came on, and then  
the second, and the third. "Kitt," Bonnie leaned on the car, "just say  
something, please."  
"....sorry...." The voice was low and thick, as Kitt's ability to talk  
faded with the rest of his systems.  
  
"Shit!" As Bonnie grabbed a laptop from the workbench, "Kitt, hang  
on."  
  
Leaning against Ella, Michael was beginning to lose consciousness; only  
his fear for his partner keeping him awake. Ella watched him, easily  
recognizing the signs. "Kitt! If you're still there, we need an  
ambulance."  
  
Bonnie hooked in the laptop and read out the words that instantly  
appeared there.  
  
services on their way tell michael sorry love you all  
  
"Kitt!" There was real anger in Bonnie's voice. "Don't even think  
about it! I'm not letting you go!"  
  
failed  
  
"No! You didn't fail! Michael's fine, it's just a bullet wound! He's  
okay. Kitt, I won't let you do this to us! You can't leave us." She  
took a deep breath. "We love you, Kitt."  
  
There was a long pause, before she read,  
  
too much pain must shut down  
  
"Kitt...." Bonnie watched the screen, searching for some sign that he  
was still with them, but there was none. Finally she turned to Ella and  
Michael, wiping the moisture from the side of her eye. "He's in shock.  
Three perceptors are shot and he's taken himself off line."  
  
Devon glanced around the quiet of the garage. Ella was sitting on the  
floor, with Michael held gently in her arms, watching Bonnie with stark  
concern. But although she had cut the input from the perceptor net to  
Kitt's CPU, there was still no response from Kitt himself.  
Ella's eyes fell on Avril's straining form. "You bitch," she spat,  
just for the hell of it.  
Avril glared back. "Who the hell are you?"  
Devon looked at her with mock apology. "I'm sorry, how rude of me not  
to introduce you, Ella, Avril Stone, Avril, this is Ella...." And  
without knowing why, he added, "Kitt's girlfriend."  
Ella recognized the expression on Avril's face, and suddenly she  
realized what all this had been about. She smiled. "You lost...  
Alice."  
  
**  
  
Devon walked through the peaceful cemetery until he came to the marble  
gravestone he knew so well.  
'Wilton Garth William Knight - died August 8th 1982 - beloved father  
and friend'.  
Sighing gently, Devon crouched down and laid the flowers in front of  
the stone. "Wilton, I know it's been... a long time, too long, I'm  
sorry. I've been rather busy, you did leave me with the equivalent of  
half an empire to run." He smiled to himself, shifting to get his  
balance right.  
"We've been through a tough patch, and we're lucky Michael's still with  
us. But I'm not sure that we all made it through this one. You see,  
Wilton, we need to talk about your son - your other son. I realize that  
for the few days that you knew Kitt, he was simply a computer. But he's  
reached the stage where we need to start thinking about his future, if  
he makes it. You were too generous to me in your will, Wilton, you left  
me more than I could ever need, and I only have one daughter. I'm going  
to set up a trust fund, for Kitt, to ensure he can live out his life by  
Michael's side, without the worry of where his next overhaul is going to  
come from."  
  
The passing breeze lifted one of the flowers, and moved it towards  
Devon. Watching the petals dancing, he continued. "I need to give  
him... something, a gift, to show him how much we care. I know it's  
unconventional, Wilton, but I'd like... to have him Christened. I only  
hope that you would give him your blessing."  
  
The breeze became a quiet wind, and the stray flower was shifted closer  
to Devon. "I never would have thought that it would be like this, I  
know it wasn't your intention to create a new life. But that's what we  
did, dear friend. I only wish you were still around to watch him grow."  
  
He stayed for only a few minutes more, before standing, and walking  
back towards the path. Not a day went by without him missing his  
friend, but he had enough to remind him of Wilton, the old man would  
never be forgotten.  
  
**  
  
Michael sat in the driver's seat, head back against the rest, the door  
open, his eyes closed. He had ignored the doctor's advice to rest in  
his bed; he had wanted to be with Kitt while his partner also underwent  
surgery. But as soon as he had become comfortable in the plush seat, he  
had fallen asleep.  
  
Bonnie replaced each perceptor, teaching Ella how to configure them as  
she went along. They were repairing the physical damage, but Kitt still  
had not brought himself back on-line, and the external access was still  
locked out. When they had started working several hours ago, they had  
tried talking to Kitt, trying to persuade him to come back. But Bonnie  
could not be sure if Kitt was even hearing them, and some time ago they  
had lapsed into silence. Finally the perceptor net was complete again,  
and Bonnie closed the hood gently, not wanting to wake Michael. She  
looked over at Ella, helplessness clear in her expression. "I don't  
know what else to do."  
Ella touched her arm in understanding. "He went through a lot, I think  
it's gonna take some time."  
"He told me, on the laptop, before he shut down, that he'd failed. I  
don't know what he meant by that."  
"He was in a lot of pain, chances were that his systems were severely  
affected. Maybe he... imagined he was responsible for Michael being  
injured, because he was the one Avril was interested in."  
"Maybe," Bonnie was not convinced, but there was very little she could  
do about it at the moment. She glanced down at her watch. It was  
nearly eleven am. "I have to get some sleep before I collapse."  
"I can understand that one."  
  
Together they headed tiredly for the house. But while Bonnie headed  
for her room, Ella made for the kitchen, and coffee.  
  
Michael slept for another four hours before he awoke feeling fragile  
and crumpled. Cautiously he stretched his back, only to have his  
shoulder warn him that the painkillers were rapidly wearing off. He  
groaned with the pain, and leant back again in the seat. "Kitt." There  
was no reply, and Michael realized that the dash was unusually dark.  
"Kitt?"  
  
As he had lain on the garage floor, in Ella's strong grip, he had  
believed Avril had killed his partner; shot him dead as Michael had sat  
there unable to do a thing about it. Anguish and pain had kept him  
awake when his whole body had been dragging him towards the blissful  
darkness of sleep. Then Bonnie had come over to him; he remembered her  
beautiful face near his. She had told him that Kitt was okay, that  
Avril had not shot at the CPU, that his partner was going to be fine,  
and so was he. So what the hell was going on?  
  
He looked out of the windshield, over to the workbench to see if they  
had removed the CPU from the car for some reason. But it was relatively  
clear, except for the laptop. "Kitt?" Still nothing. He thought back  
to those dark hours, to everything Kitt had said to him. Kitt had kept  
apologizing, but why? Michael frowned, and shifted to try to get his  
shoulder comfortable.  
  
"Kitt, I know you're there." He sighed. "What were you apologizing  
for, Pal? It wasn't your fault Devon employed a total psychopath five  
years ago, we just have to get him to improve his interview  
techniques." There was still no response, but something, a sixth sense  
that he had developed over the last few years, told him that his partner  
was there, and was listening. "I know how much you're hurting, Kitt.  
She said a lot of things that I know would have upset you." He shifted  
again; his injury starting to really hurt now the medication had worn  
off almost completely. But he was not going to walk away from Kitt if  
he could help it.  
  
"A long time ago you asked me your worth. You're worth everything; I  
wouldn't start to calculate your value in money, because you can't put a  
price on life." On the dash, a single light sparked into life next to  
the tiny lens. Kitt was watching him. He softened his voice. "You did  
the right thing by calling me the way you did, it was my fault that I  
just came storming into the garage. You warned me, and I just ignored  
it because I was tired. Don't think for one moment that you endangered  
my life by calling me." He tried to think straight, tried to get  
through the pain fogging his mind to what he thought was the point.  
"She wouldn't have waited forever. She would have come into the house  
and found someone, otherwise she wouldn't have been able to get at you."  
  
He bit into his bottom lip, and knew he was going to have to get some  
medication. "Kitt, listen pal, I have to take something for this  
shoulder. I will be back in a couple of minutes, you just hang in  
there, okay?" There was no answer, but Michael somehow knew that it was  
okay. He struggled out of the car and started towards the house.  
  
Kitt sat quietly on his own. His circuits were processing a paradox,  
not an easy thing for a computer to do. His main program was to  
preserve human life, Michael's life, and he could not and would not  
abandon that most basic function. He had failed to do that in this  
case. He had called Michael because he had needed him, because Avril  
had frightened him, and in doing so he had placed Michael's life in  
mortal danger. He should be shutdown for that near fatal error of  
judgement. But he had heard Bonnie's pleas to him in the garage  
afterwards, he had heard the pain in Michael's cries when he had called  
to him. They would not shut him down if he asked them to, he would have  
to do it himself, and that action would again hurt Michael. Maybe more  
than his injury, if Kitt understood human emotions correctly now. So he  
was stuck in the middle of a decision he could not make. His systems  
were tied into a loop he was finding very difficult to get out of.  
  
Ella peered into the garage. Michael had asked her to talk to Kitt, to  
see if she could talk some sense into him. Michael needed to sleep, he  
was in no condition to deal with this right now, and he did not want to  
make a mistake that would lead to them losing Kitt. Ella understood all  
that, but she still was not sure what she could say to him that would  
make any difference here. At least, she thought, she understood the  
ghosts he was fighting with.  
  
The car door was still open, and she made herself comfortable. The  
dash was still dead, even the one light Michael had managed to coax on  
had been darkened again. "Kitt," she started gently. "It's a terrible  
feeling when you believe you've put someone's life in danger, especially  
when you can't find a good reason for your actions. But you don't have  
to go through this. Any of us could have wondered into the garage last  
night, we were all up. You see, Michael may have ignored your warning,  
and strolled straight in here, but Bonnie didn't. She called the  
police, she alerted Devon and I, and when we did come in here, we were  
prepared. Your call to Michael saved you both. Because she would have  
got to someone eventually, and after a long wait she may not have  
bothered taking her time with you."  
  
Ella closed the car door and curled her legs under her, shifting  
position until she was sat up against the window; arm hooked up over the  
dash. She reached out to the internal perceptor and gently laid her  
thumb over it, starting to stroke softly, trying to reassure. "It's  
over now, Love. She handed us something to charge her with. Attempted  
murder. Devon's trying to make it two counts, and I think the local  
police are fine with that. You seem to have made a lot of friends  
around here."  
  
Her gaze swept across the dash. "I know you're not sulking. I know  
there's something terribly wrong. Please talk to me." More silence.  
She leant her head against the side arm of the car, between the window  
and the windshield. "Well, okay, how about I talk to you, and when you  
get bored of hearing my voice, you tell me to shut up." There was no  
reply. "Okay. I've been doing a lot of thinking, about my life, and  
about you. I like L.A., I like living in Hollywood, it gives me a sense  
of... grandeur. I enjoy my work; I like my job, especially the amount  
they pay me to do it. I love my friends. I get off on the idea that I  
spend a great many lunch-times and evenings in an Internet Cafe when I  
have a faster, free link at work."  
  
Her eyes dropped to where her thumb was playing on the perceptor, and  
she altered the pattern slightly, going from reassurance, to something  
slightly more sensual. "I have had boyfriends in the past, none of whom  
have turned out to be the man of my dreams. I started thinking maybe I  
was expecting too much, or maybe I should become a nun, or a lesbian.  
And then out of the blue comes a mysterious phone call from an  
Englishman, who sounds like he's about to breakdown at any minute. And  
I end up flying to Canada late one Friday night to fix a non-existent  
bug in a piece of my software that I didn't even know was being used, in  
a system that officially does not exist. I used not to believe in fate,  
but I'm not so sure now." She smiled to herself, her voice softening.  
"And I met you. And from the first moment you spoke to me, I knew that  
I would love you."  
  
Kitt was not sure if any of his circuits were still dealing with the  
paradox he had been experiencing. The only things he knew for certain  
were Ella's voice, her words, and her touch. He was mesmerized.  
Everything she had said to him had given him a reason to stay. He was  
starting to accept that he had made a mistake. Or maybe he had not.  
But whatever had happened, he realized Michael would rather they just  
accepted that, learn from it, and put it behind them. The simple  
conclusion was pushed to the back of his CPU as Ella's presence became  
intoxicating, filling him with the warmth of her words and the effect  
her touch was once again having on him. It was hard enough to  
concentrate on anything else when her fingers were simply on his body.  
But her stroking of the sensitive area the perceptor represented was  
overwhelming, leaving little room in his processor for any other  
thoughts.  
  
Ella believed she could feel the heat in the car rising. She tilted  
her head to look at the main dash, and at some point, a few of the  
lights had been illuminated; Kitt had come back on line. Still he did  
not speak, but if she listened carefully she could hear small, quiet  
moans of what might have been contentment, or might have been need. She  
swapped to her fingers over the perceptor, increasing the pressure  
slightly and again changing the pattern.  
  
When Ella had begun her gentle caressing, all of Kitt's functions had  
been off-line. He had left a great many of them that way, bringing only  
a few back, enough to be able to see her, and hear her, and feel not  
only her fingers but her body against the seat, the door and the dash.  
Nothing else existed, and that gave her presence an intensity that Kitt  
had not experienced before. He let another, this time greater, wave of  
energy pass over his voice modulator.  
  
Ella felt the warm shiver drive through her body when she heard the  
sound. This time she understood exactly what it meant, a need, an  
almost desperate need for something she was not sure she could give  
him. Leaning her head back against the hardness of the car, she closed  
her eyes. "Kitt," she whispered, "you have to tell me if it becomes too  
much." The last thing she wanted to do was to start an overload. "I  
don't want to hurt you."  
  
There was a heated pause, and then finally Kitt spoke, quiet yet with a  
depth of sensuality she had never heard before. "It feels so good,  
Ella."  
She smiled, increasing the strokes, keeping pace with the beat of her  
heart.  
  
Kitt could feel... a pulse, through his circuits, aligning and  
harmonizing as it passed. For this time, she was all he knew, all he  
needed to know. Never before had he thought this much about his own  
feelings, about his own being. It was fantastic, it was erotic in a way  
he had never believed he would experience. Through the sensual haze his  
world was becoming, he could hear Ella's voice, caressing him as much as  
her fingers were.  
  
"Kitt, I need you. I want you to let go, of everything they've done to  
you. I want you to release it all, the hatred, the pain, the fear; let  
it all go. Just keep this next to your heart. Just this one feeling,  
my fingers on you, my body wrapped in yours, close to you."  
  
Ella's eyes were open, watching the light inside the car as it dimmed.  
The only real telltale of the effect she was having on him were the  
almost continual sounds emanating from the voice modulator. Ella felt  
their effect on her as she had never done before. She gazed down at her  
fingers, and slowly she lowered her head and placed her lips lightly on  
the area she had been stroking. Kitt felt it, felt the change in  
pressure, sensed the softer caress, the slight moisture and the focused  
heat of breath. A long moan escaped him, and the pulse within him  
grew. "Come on. Kitt, I know you can do this for me. Let it go baby,  
just for me. Let it go."  
  
The sensations of her fingers, her lips, her voice caressing him and  
her body within the car became overwhelming. A sudden fear of losing  
the control he had always maintained flooded over him, leaving a chill  
deep within him. But Ella's ruthless touch filled him again quickly,  
chasing away the fear, unknowingly reassuring him that she was there,  
that he could let go of the control he held on to as if it was his  
life's dependence.  
  
In a magnificent moment, Kitt released that hold, riding the bright  
waves of energy that were passing through him, nearing a climactic burst  
that he knew would be like nothing he had known. Ella watched as the  
lights on the dash danced with the joy of being released, with the  
energy flowing through them, unreigned and unfocused. "God, Kitt....  
Baby...."  
  
Suddenly, Kitt let loose a joyous cry; the dash lighting up across the  
board as the stunning burst of energy flooded every system. Like white  
fire through his circuits, the peak of the surge seemed to last forever  
and ended in a second. Kitt rode the backwash of tremors over his  
pathways and nets, knowing a deep peace that was new to him. He was  
uncertain what had happened. But unlike any other power surge, that  
might have wiped out his systems if it had hit so hard, this had been  
more of a release of energy than a build up. He could feel every  
circuit; every system pulsing with the warm glow that had seemed to  
envelop him.  
  
Finally, he started to take in data again from the internal sensors,  
and found Ella still curled against him, exactly where he wanted her to  
be. Her fingers were dancing teasingly around the edge of the  
perceptor's range, but no longer touching it directly, as if she knew  
somehow that the surge had made the area suddenly painfully sensitive.  
As if to ease him, she once again leaned down and placed a gentle kiss  
where she knew he could feel her so very clearly.  
  
"Are you okay?" she whispered after a short while.  
"...more than okay, Ella. Much more."  
She smiled, finally resting her fingers' movement and wrapping her arm  
lightly around the steering wheel. Her whole body felt warm and  
tingling. "I love you, Kitt," she told him softly, thinking that just  
maybe he needed to hear it right now.  
"I love you too, Ella. That was... amazing, incredible.... Words  
don't seem adequate."  
"You don't have to find the words. You have a much more eloquent way  
of expressing yourself, believe me."  
Kitt did not really understand that, but Ella seemed to be at ease with  
him still, and that was the most important thing.  
  
**  
  
They left the garage together, Kitt driving, Ella strolling happily by  
his side. Finally, everyone had managed to get some sleep, and Michael,  
who had seen them from the lounge window, came out to meet them. Ella  
was looking rested and relaxed, and to his weird sixth sense Kitt felt  
alive and settled. Hands in pockets, Ella stopped in front of Michael  
and smiled. There was something in that smile, something he was sensing  
from his partner also, something he did not want to ask about. "Sleep  
well?"  
Ella nodded, grinning insanely. "You?"  
"It's always easy to sleep when you're drugged up to the eyeballs!"  
  
Bonnie was not far behind Michael. Once she saw that Kitt was back  
with them, she wanted to run all the diagnostics that she could on the  
new perceptor net, to ensure that Kitt did not suffer any side-effects  
from the installation of the replacement hardware, and to make certain  
everything was functioning as it should.  
  
But Kitt had his own priorities, and he asked her and Ella if he and  
Michael could join them in the lab. The two women made a tactical  
retreat, and Michael climbed in to the car. "It's good to hear you  
talk, Kitt." Michael told him with absolute sincerity and no small  
measure of relief.  
"I'm so glad that you're all right, Michael. I'm sorry I risked your  
life."  
"You know it was the only thing you could have done."  
"Maybe."  
  
Michael ran his fingers gently over the hub of the door, and leaned  
forward, ensuring his good arm rested over the perceptor as he hooked it  
over the steering wheel. A sudden flood surged through Kitt's systems  
and he instantly dampened the input from the device, having forgotten to  
earlier on. Michael noticed nothing wrong, although maybe he sensed...  
something. He merely smiled. "It's over, Pal. Life can return to  
normal whenever we want it to."  
"I think you need time to heal," Kitt told him, referring to his  
bandaged shoulder.  
"I think we both need time to heal." Michael sighed gently. "Have I  
told you lately that you're the best, Kitt?"  
There was cheer in Kitt's voice when he answered. "I think you might  
have."  
Michael smiled at that, and it reminded him of something Kitt had once  
said. "Do you remember, when we faced off with KARR, telling me that  
you wanted me to know that it had been a beautiful partnership?"  
"Yes."  
"You were right. We have the most beautiful partnership I have ever  
experienced. And I swear to you that I never let anything destroy  
that."  
There was a pause, and then, "Michael?"  
"Yeah, Kitt?"  
"You're the best."  
  
*****  
  
Ella sat quietly on the front steps of the mansion and watched the sun  
set. Maybe she had known that night in Canada, when she had looked up  
and seen the stars for the first time in many years, that she would not  
go home again. Maybe she had known, the first time she had heard  
Devon's voice on the telephone, that her life would never be the same.  
Maybe. But the moment she had met Kitt, she knew nothing could stay the  
same.  
  
She had resigned her position at RDA, and accepted Devon's offer of a  
job in Knight Industry's research and development lab, working on a  
secretive project concerning one man, and one hell of a car.  
  
Michael and Kitt were back on the road only a couple of weeks after the  
shooting; something came up, as it always did. Ella was to see very  
little of Kitt, but every moment that they did spend together was  
electric. And she always felt close to him, working on the estate, and  
he never failed to call when he said he would.  
  
And even though neither she, nor Kitt could see a happy ending to their  
relationship, both knew how they felt, and neither was willing to give  
that up.  
  
So maybe that is a happy ending.  
  
fin  
  



End file.
